Odaiba High
by MissMadi
Summary: AU. There are no Digimon, no Digital World. The Digidestined attend a normal high school and lead normal lives. Well, mostly.
1. Chapter 1

**July 30, 2009**

**AN:** Hello everyone. I am MissMadi and this is my second posting on this account (the first being a one-shot). So… this is a full-length story that I am in the process of writing (currently on chapter 6) and I finally decided to post it. However, before anyone reads, I have a warning that I think is important.

THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN AMERICA AND IS VERY AMERICANIZED. I know that a lot of Digimon fans don't like the dubbed version of the show, and if you are one of those people that hate the American names/etc, then this story is not for you. I am not Japanese and this is the only anime I have ever watched. This story is likely as American as you can get, so if that is going to be a problem for you, stop now. I don't want to get reviews from people about how annoyed they are with how American this story is, because I will simply direct you here, where I fairly warned you. I use the American names (Matt, Izzy, Kari, etc), have the setting in America (California, to be exact, as that is where I am from), and make references to only things in America.

Also – thanks to PrincessJaded for beta-ing this for me.

With that being said, read and enjoy!

* * *

_Odaiba High_

Chapter 1

**-T.K.-**

At the start of every new school year, I get really nervous for inexplicable reasons. My stomach clenches and I feel like I have to pee really badly. I get anxious and I just want to get the first day over with as quickly as I can. First days always suck because you have to make sure you find all your new classes and arrive without being late, while also meandering around for salvation – or, in other words, a familiar face.

This feeling is ten times worse as my mother pulls up to Odaiba High School. See, I'm new this year, and not just because I left junior high for high school. My mom and I used to live in Kyoto, which is two hours north of Odaiba, but since my dad and older brother, Matt, live here, and my mom wants him and I to "bond," she moved us up here. So now, instead of trying to find friends on the first day of high school, I have to _make_ them.

"Now, remember," my mom said, unlocking the doors as she pulled to a stop. "Matt had band practice this morning, but he's taking you tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded. "Sure."

"Be good," she said, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Be good?" I repeated with a snort. "I'm going to _school_. Are you expecting me to get into some kind of trouble?"

Mom flushed. "No," she said quickly. "I was just – saying, you know. Have a good day."

"I'll try," I said with a sigh. She could tell from my tone that I would much rather have been in Kyoto, starting high school with all the friends that I'd known my whole life. She pursed her lips and said nothing as I slipped out of the car, tossing my backpack over my shoulder.

"Bye!" Mom called out embarrassingly, and I trotted away as quickly as possible.

The student body is relatively small, according to Mom, but when I walked through the two front doors into the main hallway, there is barely enough room to walk. I figured that the first day is always the most crowded. Everyone has to arrive early to get their schedules and find their classes.

I bit my lip and craned my neck over the heads of the tall upperclassmen, in search of the administration office – or at least an indication that would lead me in its direction. I spied a blown up map of the school on the wall near the door and approached it, feeling very much like the tiny, stereotypical freshman portrayed in every high school film ever made. I glanced over the map quickly, noting the admin office in the hallway to the right, and shuffled away.

There was quite a line leading out of the office, which I joined and waited in impatiently. Shouldn't freshmen and new students get first dibs on their class schedules? We're the ones who are most likely going to enter every class late and get hours of detention chocked up on the first day.

I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Matt, but saw none. It was easy to tell each class apart – the freshmen walked around nervously, clinging closely to each other and looking around shiftily, as if making sure no one hurled them into a trash can. The sophomores had their noses held high as they stalked by, thinking that since they were no longer freshmen, they were at the top of ladder. Juniors were loud and obnoxious, glad to finally be a member of the upperclassmen group. Seniors were cool and collected, over high school and their petty social labels.

Before I knew it, I was at the front of the line. I told the secretary my last name, and she retrieved my schedule for me. I stepped out of the way as I examined it. "Homeroom, Drama I, English..." I murmured, glancing over it: seven courses in all, not counting Homeroom, and lunch in the middle. I sighed. The day was going to be long. "Now I just gotta find them all..."

"Are you new here?" a polite voice asked.

I spun around, the voice startling me. A girl with a short, brown bob stood behind me, smiling.

"I'm Kari," she continued.

"Um... T.K.," I said, still trying to recover from the rush of adrenaline that had just burst throughout my body. In addition to randomly being addressed while my mind was elsewhere, I had never known pupils to approach new students willingly. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm new here," I added hastily.

She nodded, probably already having known the answer. "Do you want me to show you around?" she asked kindly.

My eyebrows shoot up. "Wow," I said dumbly. "Sure. That'd be great."

Beaming, she led me out of the office and into the packed hallway. A paper airplane soared over her head as she said, loudly, to be heard of the dull roar, "Are you a freshman?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Me too," she said. "My brother is a senior here, though, so I know my way around."

I nodded, following her outside with a quirk of my eyebrow. We exited through the same doors I had entered moments earlier, and I breathed in deeply, feeling considerably less claustrophobic. A small handful of other students were outside, sitting on the front lawn, under trees, or on the few tables situated on the grass.

"What are we --" I began, but she cut clear across me.

"We'd never be able to hear each other in there," she informed me, and I nodded in understanding. "Let me see your schedule," she went on. "I can tell you where your classrooms are."

I gratefully handed over the schedule to her, feeling immense gratitude that I had found someone – or _been_ found by someone, I should say – that could help me out. "Thanks a lot."

Kari flashed me a grin. "It's no problem," she said, gazing over my class schedule. "We have a bunch of classes together," she noted.

"Really?" I said, my heart leaping. Someone to talk to!

"Yeah," she said. "Homeroom, second, third, fourth, and fifth period." She looked up and beamed at me. "I can show you where your classes are as the day goes by." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the time. "We have a few minutes until the bell rings," she said, taking a seat on the cement steps below us.

I sat down next to her, folding up my schedule and slipping it into my pocket.

"Where'd you move here from?" she asked conversationally.

"Kyoto. It's about two hours away," I told her.

Kari nodded. "That's a long way. Did your parents have to move for business or something?"

I shook my head, wondering why on Earth she cared so much, but still feeling slightly appreciated because she did. "My dad and older brother live here, so my mom wanted me to be closer to them."

She turned to face me, and I expected her to make a remark about my parents being divorced. She didn't, however, and instead said, "So your brother goes here? Well, that's good! At least you know someone, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," I said thoughtfully. Although, truthfully, I'm not really sure how good it is that Matt goes here, too. Okay, don't get me wrong, I love my brother. But we don't really know each other... at all. We only talk through e-mail, and the last time we saw each other in person was about six months ago. It's different when you talk with someone through the internet. You can put off responding for days, and are able to carefully construct what you say so that it doesn't come out awkward or weird. But now that I'm living mere miles away from him, and attending the same school... I'm a little nervous. "I'd rather be home, though," I confessed.

"I can imagine," she said sympathetically. "I've lived here for forever, and I don't know what I'd do if I had to move away so far into my schooling."

The bell rang from inside the building, and the other students who were outside began standing up. Kari and I followed suit, and she smiled at me.

"Well," she said as we approached the front doors, "the beginning of high school."

I sighed. "Let me just get through day one first."

**-Tai-**

Senior year.

You know, I've been looking forward to my senior year ever since I was in seventh grade. But now that it's here, all I can think about is how I wish it was over. Just nine more excruciating months of high school until graduation, and then I'm free at last.

I strode into my Homeroom class, feeling the eyes of the freshmen on me. They know who I am, of course. I only went down in history for being the only starting freshman on the varsity soccer team, and the youngest captain ever when I was a sophomore.

Sora Takenouchi, my best friend, was already in the room when I entered. Sora and I have been friends since way back in elementary school, when we played on the same soccer team. Sora was a really good player – _almost_ as good as me. But she quit after her freshman year and competes in tennis now.

I sat down in the desk beside hers. She flashed me a quick smile before her eyes returned to the sheet of paper in front of her, which I could only guess was her class schedule. She ran her hand down the paper and scribbled a few notes down at the bottom, detailing the supplies she would need to buy.

"You're making your school shopping list _already_?" I said incredulously. Most teachers gave us a week to buy all the supplies needed, and I tended to go to the store at eight o' clock Thursday nights.

Sora nodded. "I have tennis lessons every night this week," she said, writing furiously. "I have to go right after school to get everything today or else I won't have time until Saturday."

"Come on, it's senior year," I said, leaning backwards and stretching lazily. "Just relax. This year is supposed to be easy."

She laughed. "It will be easy. Just because I'm not procrastinating on buying a bunch of rulers and highlighters doesn't mean I need to relax."

I held up my hands defensively. "Fine, you win." I reached across and plucked the paper from under her pen. "If you don't mind resting your hand for ten seconds," I said, as she opened her mouth in protest, "I'm going to see what classes we have together."

My eyes flickered back and forth between our respective schedules, quickly comparing. "First, third, fifth, and seventh," I concluded, handing hers back. "Not as good as I'd hoped."

"Well, hey," Sora spoke up, looking over the paper, "we have last period Study Hall together. So we can sleep or ditch that class every day."

I nodded thoughtfully. "True. Nice use of the silver lining theory."

**-Davis-**

I nearly sprinted into my Homeroom class, my head whipping around wildly in the hopes of locating the one face that I had been searching for all morning. I failed to realize that there are many different Homeroom classrooms, and that it was very possible that Kari Kamiya was not in mine, but the thought had barely drifted through my mind when I found her, sitting in the back.

Talking to a _boy_.

I skidded over to where she was and took a seat in the desk in front of her, sitting backwards so that I was facing her. "Hi Kari!" I said cheerfully, hoping to avert her attention from the other boy and unto me.

Kari turned and smiled over at me. "Hi, Davis," she greeted. "Did you have a nice summer?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. I spent it mostly playing soccer."

"You and Tai both," she remarked.

"Speaking of," I said casually, "I told Tai to invite you to all of our games." I pouted. "You never came to one!"

Kari blinked. "Uh..." she stammered. "Sorry. I was... busy."

"Every Saturday?" I said dubiously.

"I had a lot going on," she said in a rush. She then motioned to the boy next to her. "Davis, this is T.K. He's new. T.K., Davis."

The boy smiled politely at me, but I narrowed my eyes. "Hello," I said shortly before turning back to Kari. "What classes do we have together?"

We compared and discovered that, aside from Homeroom, we had second, fifth, and seventh period together – much to my great disappointment. I frowned deeply. "Man, this blows."

Kari smirked. "It's not so bad."

I perked up suddenly and exclaimed, "Hey, we have Algebra together! You can tutor me!"

She shook her head. "If only. I'm horrible at math."

The new kid – what was it? T.L.? – shifted in his seat. "I'm pretty good at math," he admitted. "I already passed Algebra, and am taking Geometry this year." Glancing at Kari, he added, "I can help you, if you want."

Her face glowed. "Really? That'd be great!"

I scowled. I _knew_ I didn't like that kid. "I'm good at math, too," I boasted loudly.

Kari and T.S. raised their eyebrows at me. "You just said you were bad at math," said Kari slowly.

T.M. grinned. "I think he's trying to impress you."

Kari laughed at his _oh, so funny_ joke and I felt my face burn up.

This year is gonna suck.

**-Matt-**

I should've known that Tai Kamiya not being in my Homeroom class was going to end up biting me in the ass. And, alas, I was right – we have first period Physics together. Hopefully the rest of the day doesn't prove as amazingly fortunate for me as it has so far.

"Matt Ishida, you will be partnered up with... Tai Kamiya."

It took a large amount of self-discipline to not let out a very loud groan of frustration. Of course we would be lab partners. Why couldn't I have been paired with Sora Takenouchi, who, even though she's Tai's best friend, has always been really nice to me and is probably the only female at our school who doesn't faint when I look at her, because of my band? Even that nerdy kid, Izzy-something-or-other, who's in all advanced classes and will probably graduate with the senior class despite being a junior, would have sufficed. But, then again, I should have foreseen this. Nothing works out that well for me when it comes to Tai. I must be really tired from having to wake up at five a.m. for band practice this morning.

Tai and I have never gotten along. We didn't really mind each other in elementary school, but ever since we hit junior high, it's just been one conflict after another. Being rival captains in gym, who could make the best volcano model in the seventh grade science fair – they were all very trivial matters, but something about Tai just made me want to beat him. Exempting soccer – I would be a fool to try and challenge him in that – we were constantly competing at sports during gym class, all the way from seventh grade and up until our sophomore year, after which we weren't required to take P.E. any longer. Everything Tai and I did had to be a competition. Even if we were both getting a C in the same class, it became who could get the _higher_ C, the seventy-seven percent instead of the seventy-five percent.

Our breaking point was during sophomore year, when we actually got into a fist fight. Since it took place on school property, we were suspended for two days, and we both realized how ridiculous we were acting. The fight was an unfortunate lapse of judgment, we decided, and after that things cooled off a bit.

"I don't wanna fail this class," sneered Tai as we sat down at our lab station, "so don't mess this up."

Just a bit.

**-Sora-**

Even though Tai's my best friend, I'm so glad I didn't get him as a lab partner. I don't even know why he's taking Physics this year. He barely scraped through Chemistry and Algebra II, which makes Physics just an F waiting to happen.

Unfortunately for me, I failed Algebra II and have to take it again. But _fortunately_ for me, I aced Chemistry, and Izzy Izumi is my lab partner. He'll be able to help me with everything.

"Just a fair warning," I said as soon as we sat down at our table, "I'm probably going to be really horrible in this class. But," I added quickly, "I'm not going to expect you to do all the work."

Izzy nodded. "Good. You're the first lab partner I've ever had who's said that to me." Smirking, he continued, "Let's just see if you keep up with it."

I laughed. "Trust me, I will."

The lights went out, Mr. Harwood flicked on the overhead projector, and we all began to take notes. I always hate it when we have to do so much work on the first day. The only thing I brought with me was a writing utensil and a hundred-page notebook. Begrudgingly, I took the cap off my pen and started to copy down the notes.

"If you can't read the word, figure it out," a familiar snarl crept its way to my ears. Most of the class looked up to see Matt and Tai glaring at each other.

"Fine," snapped Matt. He leaned back and asked the girl next to him for the word he couldn't decipher.

"Oh, it's 'vector,'" she said, and he nodded.

"Thanks," he spat, giving Tai a dirty look.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them and bent my head down again. Tai and Matt have never been able to get along, which is just beyond me. We all went to camp together the summer before seventh grade, and I actually got to know Matt pretty well. He was really nice – if not a little weary of people. I try to talk to him whenever I can, but with Tai as my best friend, it makes things a little hard.

"Can you _shut up_?" exploded Matt suddenly, and everyone jumped.

"What?!" Tai cried defensively.

Matt scowled. "Must you read the notes out loud as you write them down?"

I snickered; that was one of the most annoying qualities about Tai. I saw him blush faintly in the darkness as he retorted lamely, "Well, sor-rry!"

I grinned slightly as I, again, went back to my notes. At least Physics would be a little interesting this year.

**-Yolei-**

Yes! AP Computer Apps! Only the class I've been waiting for _all day_! Granted, it's only second period, but still. Homeroom and first period went by _so slowly_.

I ran my hand over the sleek, black keyboard in a sort of dreamy longing. You see, I love computers. Everyone can tell just by looking at me – cheap clothes, really big, round glasses. But who cares? They're right.

I glanced up at the door and my breath hitched. Is it... could it be...?

It is! Izzy Izumi! Only my idol! I can't believe he's in my AP Computer class!

Oh my God... he's heading this way.

He's sitting down next to me!

He sent me a curt nod and smile in greeting before sitting down at his computer, logging on and typing away.

I stared at him, gaping like an imbecile. I can't believe he's sitting next to me. Izzy is famous at our school. Well, at least among the "nerds." He and that Joe Kido. Joe is smart, too, but not like Izzy. Last I heard, Joe is at some amazing college and bound for medical school. Izzy, though, is a genius when it comes to computers – my forte.

Izzy was the Computer Club president back in junior high. My worship for him began in seventh grade.

He looked over at me again, strangely, and I blushed deep magenta; I'd been staring at him the entire time! I spun around on my chair and logged onto my computer, trying to drown in my humiliation.

**-Izzy-**

This sophomore keeps staring at me. Maybe I'll pick a different seat tomorrow.

**-Mimi-**

This is HORRIBLE! Second period Algebra II, and NONE of my friends are in this class! I don't recognize _anybody_.

I already hate this class.

I sighed deeply and whipped out my pink nail polish bottle. I shook it roughly, taking my anger out on it.

"_Yes_, we have Rudolph!" said the girl next to me, who was just slipping into her seat. I wasn't sure if she was talking to me, but a quick look around confirmed it.

"You took this class last year?" I asked, sitting up straight.

She nodded. "I totally failed. But I had Kaminski, who usually teaches Pre-Calculus, so he tried to teach us way harder stuff than he was supposed to."

I made a face. "Glad I didn't get him."

She laughed. "Yeah, me too. My friend had Rudolph last year, and he did almost _nothing_ in this class. He's a good teacher, apparently, but most days they just sat around doing nothing. And also, Rudolph refuses to fail anyone."

I sat up straighter. "Really!?" I exclaimed, beaming.

"Yup. That's just what I've heard, though."

I sighed dreamily. "I live for easy classes like these."

"Hey, I know you!" the girl cried suddenly. "Mimi, right? You're on the cheerleading squad?"

I giggled and flipped my hair over my shoulder. Even people I don't know know me! "Yup," I said, smiling. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sora."

"Oh, I _do_ know you!" I remarked. "Aren't you the captain of the tennis team?"

She nodded modestly. "Do you play?"

I shook my head. "No, but I have a friend that does, so I've been to some of the matches before. You're really good!"

Sora blushed. "Thanks."

The bell rang, and all the students still milling around quickly took their seats. Mr. Rudolph strode to the front of the room and leaned back against his desk. "Now," he said bluntly, "I _could_ teach you the lesson scheduled for today, on the first day of school, and assign homework that I know you won't do... or," he stepped back and gestured to his desk, piled high with construction paper, streamers, and other decorative items, "we could make this room a little more cheerful looking."

Sora looked over at me and smirked knowingly.

The rest of the class stared at him, dumbfounded, clearly not having heard of his laid back ways.

"I'm not allowed to keep my decorations up during the summer," Mr. Rudolph explained. "Come on, guys, let's spread some cheer! Algebra sucks, so we might as well have a nice-looking classroom, right?"

Half of the class stood up uncertainly and headed toward his desk, not wanting to risk the possibility of no one moving, and therefore forcing Mr. Rudolph to give us a lesson.

Sora and I remained seated. "I'm not in the decorating mood," I said lazily, opening my bottle of nail polish and methodically beginning to paint my nails.

**-Matt-**

This year is shaping up to be the worst ever. Senior year is supposed to be the _best_ year, but no, not for me.

It's third period, and I have had every class with Tai so far. After Physics we had Government, but luckily we didn't have to sit near each other. On the contrary, we sat as far away as possible from each other.

However, now we're in English and we already have an essay assignment due next Friday. And, better yet, it's a _partner _essay. We have to interview someone and then write an essay on them. It's incredibly pointless, I'm not looking forward to it, and I just _know_ that Tai will be my partner.

"Matt Ishida and Sora Takenouchi."

Sweet relief swept over me. Three points for the universe, one point for me.

A pair of eyes burned in the back of my head, and I turned to see Tai glaring daggers at me, like I'd somehow planned this partnership between Sora and me. I rolled my eyes obviously and faced the front again.

It's no secret that Tai has a thing for Sora. They've known each other for so long, and been best friends for most of that time. They're always together. Everyone knows that they're one of those "destined to be together" couples. It's expected that in ten years, during our high school reunion, the two will be married and have a perfect life. They haven't dated yet, and they've both had other relationships, but it's only a matter of time.

I rolled my eyes again. Bullshit. There aren't such things as unions like that.

Our seats were rearranged so we were near our partner; another point was awarded to me when Sora and I were placed on the other side of the room from Tai and his partner.

"Hey, Matt," greeted Sora as we sat down. "How was your summer?"

I shrugged. "It was okay. Most of it was spent rehearsing."

Smirking, Sora said, "You didn't get out and go to the beach _once_?"

I squirmed, not exactly wanting to delve into details of my social life, or lack thereof. "Nah," I said vaguely.

She opened up her notebook to a blank page and clicked her pen a couple times. "So..." she mused. "Where to begin."

"I'm a fairly uninteresting person," I confessed.

She grinned. "Hopefully you're interesting enough to fill three pages."

"I can't make any promises."

Sora yawned widely, covering her mouth with her hand. "You know," she said, "it might be easier if we just hang out together. Instead of, like, asking each other a list of questions. Do you wanna eat lunch together?"

Normally I ate with the guys from my band, but surely I could join Sora for one day. I opened my mouth to respond, but froze. "I would," I said apologetically, "but my younger brother is new here. I was gonna sit with him."

She nodded quickly. "Oh, yeah, that's... yeah. You should do that instead." She clicked her pen a couple more times, staring at her notebook, as an awkward silence befell us. "Your brother... T.K., right?" she said after a few moments.

I nodded. "Yeah. You remember him?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah," she replied. "From camp that one year. He was a cutie."

"I guess," I mumbled. I wasn't exactly looking forward to eating with T.K. The two of us have spent hardly any time together since our parents divorced all those years ago. I was willing to bet my Gibson SG that the meal would be filled with forced greetings and painful small-talk.

And that's when I decided it couldn't hurt to have another person there. "Well, you know," I said suddenly, "I'm sure T.K. wouldn't mind if you ate with us. He liked you when we went to camp."

Sora beamed. "Really? That'd be great! So, I'll see you then?"

**-Sora-**

During lunch, our school lets students eat wherever they want. There's a lunchroom, but not very many people eat in there, unless it's really cold out or snowing or raining. During the warmer months, most pupils choose to eat outside.

I stood at the top of steps in the front of the school building, clutching my lunch and glancing around. Most of the school was littered about: sitting on the grass, against the wall, on blankets, at tables. I cursed myself for not asking Matt where he would be eating during English, but Tai had practically dragged me out of the room as soon as the bell rang.

"Where are we eating today?" said boy asked cheerfully next to me, holding tight onto his own lunch.

"I'm actually eating with Matt today," I said airily.

Tai's jaw dropped. "You're _what_?" he demanded. "Why?"

"For our paper."

"Where am I supposed to sit?"

I rolled my eyes. "You can sit with us, you know. Just suck it up."

Tai crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. "Why do you have to sit with him, anyway?" he asked, ignoring my statement. "Can't you just call him or something?"

"No, because we already decided we're eating lunch together," I said firmly.

"The two of you?" he said quickly. "Alone? Together?"

Sighing deeply, I said, "No. We're eating with his brother. And you, if you'd just swallow your pride."

Tai shook his head. "I'm not eating with him."

I scowled at his immaturity. "Whatever," I grumbled irritably. I looked around and spied Matt sitting a ways away, against a tree. "Bye," I said shortly, jogging down the steps and over to where Matt was sitting.

As I neared, he looked up at the sound of my footsteps. "Hey," he greeted.

I sat down on the grass and brushed off my jeans. "T.K. not here yet?"

He shook his head. I craned my neck around, looking toward the front doors of the school, from which Tai had disappeared from. His younger sister, Kari, emerged from inside the school, talking with a freshman boy whom I'd never seen before.

"There's Tai's sister," I commented aloud, and Matt followed my gaze.

"She's with T.K.," he remarked. He sat up straight and waved his arms broadly, calling his brother's name. T.K. and Kari looked around at the sound; when T.K. spotted Matt, he beckoned Kari to follow him and the two walked over to where we were sitting.

"Hi, Matt," said T.K. once they were within ear-shot range; he spoke somewhat stiffly, I noticed.

Averting my attention, my gaze rested upon Kari. She and T.K. were taking their seats, Kari next to me. "Hey," I smiled at her.

She grinned back. "Hi." Glancing around, she questioned, "Where's Tai?"

I sighed slightly. "I don't know. He --"

I was interrupted, however, by a heavy figure thrusting itself in between Matt and me, quite painfully. "Hi, Kari!" Tai said enthusiastically. He smiled at me innocently and said, "Well, since you _and_ Sora are sitting here, I might as well too!"

Matt narrowed his eyes at the boy sitting in very close proximity to him, and scooted himself over a good three feet.

"So, T.K.," began Tai conversationally. He has a tendency to monopolize conversations, which can be irritating at times – but it's also good in the sense that the phrase "awkward conversation" is foreign to him. "You're Matt's brother?" T.K. nodded his response. "That's cool. I remember you from camp."

"Kari!" someone shouted.

A freshman boy who was on Tai's soccer team, and who I always thought could pass as his younger brother, skidded over to our patch of grass. He, in a similar fashion to what Tai did moments earlier, jammed himself in between T.K. and Kari, causing Kari to almost topple into my lap.

"Um... hey, Davis," muttered Kari as she recovered.

Davis beamed at Kari with a sort of puppy-dog longing. "I thought maybe you and I could have a romantic lunch?"

Kari sighed deeply, sounding very tired. "No thanks," she said blandly, "I'd rather stay here."

He shrugged, fumbling for her hand. "They can watch."

She jerked her hand away from him, very annoyed. "No," she said rigidly.

"Sora! Sora!"

To further continue the abuse, Mimi plunked herself down very roughly in between Kari and me. My shoulder rammed into Tai's, and poor Kari nearly fell into Davis. He put his arms around her shoulders but she made a face and pulled away, waving her arms to get him to move over. He did so, bumping hard into T.K. on purpose.

"What is it, Mimi?" I asked, perplexed. I'd barely met her earlier in the day, and hadn't realized that we were already lunch buddies.

Her lower lip trembled as she sat, cross-legged, on the ground, her hands twisted in her lap. "None of my friends have this lunch. Can I sit with you?" The question was asked very unnecessarily, however, as she had already made herself comfortable and was removing the top off of her salad container. She took her first bite and then finally decided to take a look around at the people she was sitting with.

Mimi's eyes fell upon Matt and she gasped loudly. After swallowing, she exclaimed, "Omigosh. You're that guy, from that band."

Matt squirmed uncomfortably, and Tai discreetly rolled his eyes at me. It has always seemed like Matt wasn't fond of the attention he received from his band, particularly from the female population. Tai thinks it's because he's gay; I think it's because he's modest.

"Can I get your autograph?" gushed Mimi.

I smiled apologetically at Matt.

**-Davis-**

I am so stoked. Kari and I have P.E. _and_ Algebra together. Could this day get any better?

Figuring it would be gentlemanly, I waited near the locker rooms for her. I arrived there extra early, just so I wouldn't miss her. It was obvious Kari wanted me – she just played hard to get. I chuckled to myself. Well, I would get her.

I heard Kari before I saw her – she was laughing at something. When she turned the corner, she was walking with T.J. – _again_. I narrowed my eyes. Those two sure became fast friends, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Kari!" I shouted, waving at her. She looked up and half-smiled at me.

"Hi, Davis," she said as she and the kid approached me. "I forgot we had this class together."

"Yup," I said smugly, glancing at T.R. "What are you doing here?"

He blinked, slightly taken aback. "We just came from science."

"Y-you two have science together?" I stammered, my heart sinking.

They both nodded. "And I have P.E. next, also." He gestured toward the locker room door.

My face fell. Oh, great. "Sounds fun," I sneered, and Kari frowned at me.

Before she could say anything, though, a rude voice broke out. "Can you _move_, please?"

A girl wearing very big, round glasses was glaring at me; it seems I'd been blocking the entrance into the girl's locker room. "Don't get your panties worked up," I grumbled at her.

The girl's face flushed red almost instantaneously, as if someone splashed paint on her face. "I know you," she seethed. "Davis Motomiya."

My eyes narrowed into slits as I looked her over. She was sort of familiar.... "Oh, yeah!" I exclaimed suddenly. "Yolei."

When I was in seventh grade, Yolei was in eighth. One time when I was late for soccer practice, I ran into her in the halls and accidentally caused her to drop her science project. She was so angry she tried to get me suspended for it, but it was officially called an accident. She's never forgiven me for it.

"Please don't tell me you're in this class," I whined.

"_You're_ in this class?" she cried. "God should just smite me now."

I grumbled intelligibly as I stepped aside to let her pass. One look around notified me that J.T. and Kari had disappeared into their respective locker rooms during my confrontation with Yolei. Frowning deeply, I realized my perfect fifth period had been forever ruined.

**-Tai-**

Finally... the end of day one. It's a common agreement amongst every normal student that the first day is by far the longest day of the year – somehow longer than even the last day.

Additionally, this year is proving to be the worst yet. It's very unfortunate that in my senior year, the year that is supposed to own all other years, is the year that I have all but two classes with Matt. I'm only free of his presence during Homeroom and Statistics. And to top it all off, I had to eat lunch with him today. I can't wait until we turn in those stupid essays and Sora can ditch him.

It was even worse during last period Study Hall, when Sora ditched to go to Office Max in order to buy her supplies before tennis tryouts directly after school. I would have gone with her, but I had to stay in order to take Kari home. I was stuck with Matt, who fell asleep, that nerdy kid Izzy who did a slice of his of truckload of homework, and Sora's new cheerleader friend, who luckily knew other people in our class and completely ignored me. I drew some fabulous pictures of soccer balls for the entire forty-five minutes.

As soon as the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat as fast as I could. I strolled out of the front doors, my hands deep in my pockets.

One day down, two hundred and ninety-nine to go.

As I strode toward the parking lot, I spotted Matt's younger brother. T.K., was it? I sped up and jogged over to him. "Hi," I said in greeting.

T.K. looked up and blinked at me. "Oh, hey. Tai, right?"

"Yeah." I looked around. "Where's Kari? You two didn't seem to leave each other's sides all day." I flashed him a grin. "Fast friends."

He nodded. "She really helped me feel welcome."

"That's Kari," I said. "Always reaching out to others."

"Yeah. Well, she had to go back to her Spanish classroom – she left her camera in there."

I laughed. "She must've been freaking out. Kari's quite the photographer." Well, _that_ was the understatement of the century. Kari got her first play camera when she was two and that was the beginning of the end. She has completely worn out four cameras. In addition to her digital one, our dad bought her a really high-tech camera on eBay for her last birthday. It cost just under a thousand dollars, and it's Kari's pride and joy. She brings her digital one everywhere with her because she doesn't want anything to happen to the other one, but almost every afternoon she'll go for a walk and take beautiful pictures of the town. She's able to make something ugly look artistic, like a pair of dirty tennis shoes dangling on a phone line.

"Davis has a pretty big thing for her," commented T.K. "How long has that been going on for?"

I rolled my eyes. "How long has Davis been alive?" I almost couldn't remember a time when Davis _wasn't_ tripping over himself to get Kari's attention. I must've been in seventh grade, and she in fourth, when they met. She had him from the first day they met, even though she so desperately didn't want him. "It really bugs her. And nothing bugs Kari."

"Do you think he'll ever get the hint?" T.K. asked. "I mean, if it's been so long already..."

I sighed and shrugged. "Who knows? But if he doesn't... they graduate in four years." I grinned.

"That's true," said T.K. thoughtfully.

Suddenly, I was struck with a brilliant beyond brilliant idea. Turning to T.K., I said bluntly, "How would you like to flirt with Kari a little bit?"

Clearly he was not expecting me to say that. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at me. A few people walking behind him stopped short; as they brushed past him, they mumbled something about freshmen. T.K. didn't notice, however, and continued to gape. "_What_!?"

"Look, Kari's never had a boyfriend," I explained patiently. "She's admired a lot," I scowled, "but it's never been anything. You and Kari are hitting it off really well, and I think if maybe Davis saw you two flirting, he would back off."

T.K. opened and closed his mouth a couple times, trying to find his voice. At last, he managed to utter, "Are you joking?"

"It doesn't have to mean anything!" I said quickly. "Just meaningless flirting."

"No, I mean..." He shook his head. "Do you really think Davis would stop liking her over _that_?"

I shrugged. "Sure he would. If he saw a potential relationship forming..."

"I-I," stammered T.K., seemingly at a loss for words. "I don't know --"

"Come on, help me out," I said, hoping that my seniority would at least scare him into doing it. "It's not like you're gonna have to go out with her or anything. Just flirt for a few months. Oh, and," I glanced around quickly to make sure she was nowhere near us, and took a step closer to him, "could you not mention this to her? I don't want her to get the wrong idea or anything."

Swallowing painfully, T.K. said, "O-okay."

Grinning, I bopped him on the arm in a friendly manner. "Thanks, man. I owe you." Without waiting for a reply, I turned on my heel and jogged over to my car.

**-T.K.-**

Well... this year is going to be interesting.

* * *

**AN:** What did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly?


	2. Chapter 2

**September 3, 2009**

**AN:** So approximately four days after I posted the first chapter, I totally forgot about this story and haven't touched it since. Oops. So I haven't written anything new since July but I figured I might as well post chapter 2 anyway. It's a fairly uneventful chapter so I apologize in advance. Hopefully I'll be able to write more in the coming days, but I'm going out of town this weekend and I leave for college next Friday, so we'll see.

Thanks everyone for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

_Odaiba High_

Chapter 2

**-T.K.-**

I was definitely not looking forward to the car ride to school. Matt and I have absolutely nothing to talk about.

Luckily, the ten minute car ride home yesterday was filled with me rattling off my teachers and Matt giving me tips: Honeysett will pass anyone who shows up for class and pretends not to sleep; Nieri focuses a lot of his time on Greek and Roman mythology; all Klerk does is sit at his desk and read monotonously from his note cards, hardly ever looking up; Albers conducts a lab experiment every other day and follows a strict "learn by doing" policy; Floyd lets his P.E. students do whatever they want; Roy is one of the hardest math teachers in the school; and Duarte's pupils always fail oral exams because all they do is take notes and never practice Spanish aloud.

Unfortunately, I wasn't going to have the same advantage the following morning.

After prying myself away from my mother and refusing to let her take a picture of us driving off to school together ("But it's such a big milestone in your life! How about a picture of you walking out the door? Please?"), I slid into the passenger seat beside Matt.

"Hi," he said cordially.

"Hello," I responded.

Then we lapsed into silence.

He pulled away from the curb and began the drive to school; the radio was on softly and he tapped his fingers to the beat on the steering wheel. After about half a minute, he said, "So... how was your night?"

I shrugged. "Good, I guess. I talked to some friends from home. Did my homework... which consisted of getting about a hundred forms about classroom rules signed."

Matt snorted. "Typical first day, freshman homework."

I nodded, staring out the window at the passing houses and trees. "Yup."

Clearing his throat, Matt said, "So... uh... did you have a good first day?"

He asked me that same exact question yesterday, but I let it slide. "It was good. Nothing special."

"Do you like the school so far?" he inquired, very politely.

I half-shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, I guess. People seem... nice."

"People like Kari Kamiya?" smirked Matt.

"Yeah," I said cluelessly. "She was really nice." I chanced a glance in Matt's direction before saying, "I hear you and her brother don't get along so well."

Was it my imagination, or did Matt visibly stiffen? "We're not the best of friends," he said slowly.

"Is it because of that girl? Sora?"

Matt jerked so forcefully that he nearly rammed into the car one lane over. The woman in the car honked loudly and zoomed by, brandishing a very rude hand gesture as she passed. "What?" he sputtered incredulously as he regained control of his '87 Pontiac Trans Am. "Where did you get that idea?"

"I-I don't know, it was just a guess," I said nervously. It was just like me to piss off my brother on the second day of school. "I mean, she was eating with us yesterday... and then Tai came over. It seemed like he wanted to keep you two away from each other."

"We were only sitting together for an essay," he clarified firmly. "And I could care less about her, really. Everyone knows she and Tai have a thing and will, like, get married some day."

My eyebrows shot up. "I didn't know they were dating."

"Well – they're not," he corrected. "But Tai's liked her for years and Sora probably feels the same. It's just... not official."

I was thoroughly puzzled, but didn't push the matter any further. "Oh... that makes sense," I lied.

A few more seconds passed awkwardly as we continually neared the school. Ten minutes had never seemed so long.

"Oh," Matt said suddenly, "Dad wants you to come over for dinner sometime this weekend. He hasn't seen you, and he has to work late all week."

I smiled slightly. It had been so long since I'd seen my dad, and I desperately wanted to. "That'd be great," I said. "Maybe Saturday?"

Matt nodded. "I'll let him know."

"And, you know..." I said cautiously. "I'm sure Mom would want you to come over, too. Friday?"

I knew that Matt wasn't fond of our mother – he'd let it slip a couple of times that he blamed her for our parents' divorce – so it wasn't a surprise to me when Matt clenched his jaw. "I have a gig Friday night."

Whether his statement was true or not, I did not question.

**-Yolei-**

The best part about being the youngest child is that you're ignored.

Coincidentally, that is also the worst part.

I mean, I could stay out all night long and my parents wouldn't even realize it (not that I've ever done that). I can sit in my room, playing around on my computer, for days on end without Mom and Dad bugging me to come out and spend some time with them. They let me do what I want.

However, it proves slightly problematic when they forget to wake me up in the morning.

What aroused me on the second day of school was the sound of two of my siblings and my parents running around as they got ready for the day. Apparently Mom and Dad had both overslept and the convenience store that they own (and we happen to live above) was an hour late in being opened. Mantarou, my older brother, doesn't live at home anymore, as he's receiving his master's degree at some college that I can't pronounce; my older sister, Momoe and Chizuru, still live at home, though. They're both taking classes at Odaiba Community College, and had to get to a class at eight a.m.

None of them bothered to wake me.

I thought it was still summer when I first opened my eyes and glanced at the clock. When I read the seven forty-five flashing at me, I wondered why on earth I was waking up so early during vacation. But a few seconds later when it sunk in that it was in fact a Tuesday, and a school day at that, my adrenaline burst and I shot up in bed.

"WHY DID NO ONE WAKE ME UP?!" I hollered as I threw open my bedroom door. My bathroom was occupied by Momoe, so I grabbed the set of clothes I had fortunately set out the night before and tore down the hallway to our guest bathroom.

"Yolei?" my mother shouted, surprised, from the kitchen. "I thought you were at school already!"

"Well, THANKS for caring," I snarled, turning on the water and stripping out of my pajamas. I took a record breaking two-and-a-half minute _cold_ shower. What seemed like permanent goosebumps erupted all over my arms and legs as I redressed, still grumbling distastefully. Sprinting back to my room, I pulled my sopping hair back into a bun, knowing it would look disgusting by last period but not particularly caring. I pushed my glasses up my nose and applied my usual minimal makeup – a.k.a. chapstick – before grabbing my backpack and rushing out of the house.

"Yolei! Your breakfast!" Dad called as I was halfway out the front door.

"Dad, it's SEVEN FIFTY-ONE!" I reminded him loudly. "I missed the bus and have to _run_ the three miles to school. I have no time for petty antics like _breakfast_!" Giving him no time to respond, I slammed the door loudly and began my jog.

You may not know this, but it's really hard to run with a five pound sack on your back. It's about half a second behind your movements, so when you're in mid-run, your backpack is pulling you down, and yet when you touch down on the ground, the backpack is heading in the opposite direction.

I made it about two blocks before I took a break.

"Screw it," I panted. My skin was still moist from the shower, and it made perspiring easier and more uncomfortable than normal. I wiped my damp forehead with the back of my hand and took deep breaths to stabilize my heart rate. "I'll just be late."

A red convertible pulled up to the sidewalk beside me and the driver honked her horn. "Need a ride?" she yelled. I looked left and right, seeing no one, and then pointed to myself.

"Me?"

The girl inside laughed. "Yes, you! Do you need a ride to school?"

Could my day have had a bigger turnaround? "Yeah, thanks!" I exclaimed gratefully. I picked up my backpack and trotted over to her car.

As I was buckling my seat belt, the girl said, "I'm Mimi."

My heart nearly stopped. _Why_ did I not bother to look at my savior before hopping into her vehicle?

"Mimi Tachikawa?" I gasped, slowly turning to look at her.

Yes, it was. Mimi Tachikawa, in all her glory, was sitting beside me. I was in her _car_. She offered _me_ a ride. As if having Izzy Izumi in my computer class wasn't enough, I'm driving in a car with my other idol, Mimi.

"That's me!" she said cheerfully, pulling away from the curb. "I saw you running about a block back while I was at a red light. It looked funny."

My face burned, and the heat immediately warmed my body. She saw my dorky running? Oh my God. Well, my day is in the toilet again.

"Uh... yeah," I murmured in humiliation. "I kinda overslept."

"What did you say your name was?" she asked.

Great. I forgot to introduce myself. "Oh... I didn't. It's Yolei."

"Yolei..." she repeated thoughtfully. "I think we have a couple classes together."

"We do," I said instantaneously. "Homeroom and Home Ec." Immediately my face heated up again. Now she'll probably think I'm a stalker.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled at me. "Good memory!" she complimented.

"Really?" I said. "Um, thanks."

I wish this car ride would last forever.

"So you're a sophomore, right?" Mimi asked.

"Yup." I sighed. "Only three more years of high school."

"It'll go by fast," Mimi promised. "I'm a junior but I feel like I just started. I'll probably wake up tomorrow and it'll be graduation day."

I scoffed. "In my dreams."

Mimi frowned. When she stopped at a red light, she turned to me and asked, "Not enjoying high school?"

I fidgeted, not exactly wanting to share with the most popular girl in school, cheerleader, and bona fide Gossip Queen how I have virtually no friends. I eat lunch with acquaintances and spend most of my free time at home. "Well... it's okay," I said awkwardly. "The work is hard, though."

She nodded understandingly. "I know! Junior year is _the worst_. I'm not even in any AP classes but I had homework in every single one of my classes last night and two essays due Friday!"

That didn't sound too bad to me. Maybe it's because I don't really do anything in my spare time except homework. "…oh," I said lamely.

Mimi drove into the school parking lot, pulling into one of the last parking spots available. "There are my friends," she said aloud, turning to me and smiling. "Bye!"

"Thanks for the --" I began, but she had already leaned forward and opened the passenger door.

"I'll see you later!" she said loudly.

"O-okay, I --"

She ushered me out so quickly that I stumbled out of the car and nearly fell flat on my face. Once on the sidewalk, I turned back to try and thank her again, but she had already left and was joining the rest of her cheerleader friends at the front of the school. My cheeks tinged red as it occurred to me that perhaps she was embarrassed by my presence.

**-Kari-**

When T.K. and I were walking to first period, he said a most interesting thing to me.

It was after Homeroom when we had managed to shake off Davis (T.K. and I have our class on the third floor, and Davis's is on the first). I said 'hi' to a few people I knew on the way there, and T.K. didn't say much.

"So..." I said, hoping to get a conversation flowing.

After a few seconds of silence, he said, "You know, you don't have to keep hanging out with me. It's fine."

Very puzzled, I turned to him and said, "Erm... what?"

"I just..." He looked at his feet. "I don't want you to feel obligated to hang with the new kid just because I don't know anybody yet. You should go hang out with your friends."

I didn't reply immediately. The truth is I don't really have any good friends. I have a _ton_ of casual friends – not to sound conceited, because it's very true. Tai says it's because I'm nice to everyone; I'm usually able to become somewhat friends with everyone I meet. But the thing is, I don't have anyone that I would consider a best friend. I spend a lot of time with Tai and Sora, but they don't really count. I've known Sora for forever; she's almost like a sister to me. I could never admit it out loud, but I was glad when I saw T.K. in the office yesterday, obviously new. I thought that maybe I could finally have the kind of best friend that everyone else besides me seems to have.

"T.K., it really is fine," I told him. "I swear."

"I just don't –"

"I don't feel like I have to hang out with you," I interrupted. "I want to."

He finally looked up and smiled at me. "Good."

We reached the hallway where our classrooms were; his Drama room was right across from my Digital Art one.

"Now that we've established that," he said, suddenly energized again, "is football big here?"

My mind raced at the sudden subject change. "What do you mean?"

"Well, where I used to live, football was _huge_," he explained. "As many people as possible would cram into the stadium to watch every game."

I shook my head. "Our football team kind of sucks," I said. "They're not really popular here. Soccer and basketball are big, though. The whole town comes out to watch the soccer games on Saturday mornings. Basketball is more of just a school interest, though, instead of the community. But it's still really popular."

T.K. raised his eyebrows. "Whoa. Cultural differences, I guess."

"Yeah," I grinned. "The first soccer game is actually this Saturday." The soccer season always got underway quickly; tryouts were a couple weeks before school started. "You should go!"

"To the soccer game?" he said skeptically. "I've never been much of a fan..."

"Oh, please," I scoffed. "I can't stand it. I've grown up going to soccer games and I'm absolutely sick of the sport. But Tai's on the team so I go. Besides, the whole school goes so it'll be a good social opportunity for you."

The bell rang, informing us students that we had one minute to get to our classes. "I'll think about it," he said, before slipping into his classroom.

**-Tai-**

How am I gonna get through this year?

Six classes with Matt, and only five with Sora. Who in the administration hates me?

After fifth period, I strolled casually through the hallway on my way to Spanish, the duffel bag loaded with my soccer supplies slung over my shoulder. Wouldn't you know, Matt has that class with me? I rolled my eyes at the very thought. Everything about that kid just annoys me.

After I retrieved my Spanish book from my locker, I noticed T.K. at the end of the hallway, digging through his own locker. He pulled out what looked like a ten pound Geometry book and a notebook.

I was at his shoulder by the time he closed his locker. "Hey!" I said cheerily.

He jumped. "Oh, hey, Tai," he said.

Getting right to the point, I asked, "Have you made any moves on Kari?"

T.K. blinked. "Shoot. I forgot."

I sighed. "You gotta get on it! The sooner Davis leaves her alone, the better." I shifted the duffel in my hand, and an idea struck me. "Hey!" I cried. "Why don't you take her to the soccer game on Saturday?"

"Well..." he stammered, "she mentioned it... I just --"

"Go!" I exclaimed. "It'll be great! You can take a blanket and sit on the grass..."

His face registered a whole combination of emotions at once; his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, his eyes widened in fear, and his features distorted into a display of confusion.

I frowned as well. If I was about to score a goal, I would _not_ want to look over and see my sister "scoring" with a boy, if you know what I mean. "You're right, too fast," I said, even though T.K. had not spoken. "Well, whatever. Just the action of you taking her to the game should be good enough."

"Tai... I don't –"

"Come on, man," I pleaded. "Look, this isn't about me, it's about my sister. You guys are becoming pretty good friends, right?"

"Well..." he said, "we just met yesterday."

I shrugged his comment off. "You don't have to know someone for years to be good friends. So, whaddya say?" I smiled encouragingly. "Will you do this?"

T.K. sighed, defeated. "Fine," he said weakly. "Yeah. I'll go to the game with her."

I pumped my fist in the air triumphantly. "Alright!" I cheered. "And Davis will be at the game, so I _know_ he'll see her! This is perfect. Thanks again!"

**-Davis-**

PE is my favorite class ever. Period. No questions asked.

And luckily for me, since the soccer season is underway, our first unit is soccer!

"We're going to start off with a class scrimmage," Coach Floyd announced on our first day of playing. "Captain number one will be Davis Motomiya, Odaiba's very own varsity player." The coach smiled down at me as I proudly walked over to stand next to him. "And our second captain will be James Field."

James, a sophomore, stood on Coach Floyd's over side and smirked at me. What was he doing, looking at me like that? What, does he think he's better than me? I'll show him. I'm not the only freshman on the varsity team for nothing!

"Kyler Palm," I picked. Kyler is a guy that I've known since junior high and we played on the same soccer team for a year. He's pretty good – probably the best in this sorry bunch that I have to choose from.

James picked Taylor Boulder, and I swore under my breath. He'd been my second choice.

The next few minutes consisted of us assembling our teams. Only a handful of people remained – T.J. and Yolei being two of them. I'd managed to get Kari on my team before James did, thankfully.

"Pick the new kid," Kyler muttered to me when it was my turn. "He looks like he could be pretty good."

"Shut up," I snapped back. I surveyed all the people that were left: Mark Candelstik is known for being one of the worst athletes in the school; Jimmy Heels is tall and lanky and constantly trips over his own feet; and Donny Cloud just doesn't care. Sighing, I grumbled, "T.K."

T.B. blinked in surprise and jogged over to our side. "Thanks, Davis!" he said cheerfully. I scowled.

Soon, there were just two people left – Yolei and another girl, Kelly Pebble. Kelly never participates in sports and prefers to just sit on the ground and shred flowers – in fact, she was sitting on the ground as I stood deliberating. Yolei had her arms folded across her chest and was tapping her foot impatiently. "Yolei," I said, and she stomped over to us.

"Always last," she mumbled. Well, maybe if she was better at soccer, I'd pick her first!

I won the coin flip to decide who would kick off and we took a quick lead. It's amazing how different this kind of game is from a varsity one. After all, half the people playing in this game don't care what's going on and I pretty much have to lead the whole thing. Kari, as amazing as she is, did not inherit Tai's soccer skills in the slightest and thus I told her to just stay back. She didn't seem to care; she spent a bit of her time talking to Yolei, whom I had also told to stay back. T.K. was pretty good, I hate to admit. Not anywhere as good as me, but decent. He assisted me as I made a goal and clapped me on the back when I scored. "Nice shot!"

"Yeah, I know," I snapped, but I was grinning slightly.

Abigail Seewead was probably the best girl on our team. Well, she was the only other person to score besides me. After scoring, she turned and gave me a wink. I stared after her, confused, until Kyler bounded up to me and said I should ask her out.

"What!?" I sputtered. "Abigail – no!" This was the same girl that, in first grade, told me that one day her nipples would be boobs like her mother's.

Besides, I'm a one-woman kind of guy.

**-Izzy-**

Study Hall is a safe haven for me. After a day crammed with four AP classes, English (my worst subject), and Physics (which should be an honors course all its own), I nearly cry in relief as I walk through the doors to my salvation. Sure, I love my AP classes, but they sure are overwhelming. It was definitely very astute of me to pick Study Hall as my seventh period, in lieu of another AP class. Forty-odd glorious minutes of quiet work time, during which I am usually able to finish nearly all of my homework and leaving my afternoons free for me to fickle around my computer.

Normally I sit in the front of my classes, wanting to get the best seat possible, but Study Hall is the opposite. I prefer to sit in the back corner, keeping to myself in an attempt to complete my work as fast as possible.

However, it was particularly difficult for me to concentrate on my studies that day; I was still reeling over a fight I had with my mother the night before. It had started over something incredibly juvenile – I could barely even remember what it was. Something about me not wanting to eat dinner with her and Dad. Anyway, we got in a shouting match and I spent the rest of the night shut up in my room. Mom didn't wake up to greet me before school that morning, the first time she hasn't since... ever.

I rubbed my bloodshot eyes and sighed. I felt somewhat bad for my mom; the way she looked at me when I was yelling – I think I was saying that she wanted me to be her five-year-old son forever and that she had to accept soon that I was going to graduate and move far away – made me feel horrible. I felt so horrible that I got even angrier, and took more of it out on her.

My parents and I, especially my mother, have been growing apart quite a lot over the last few years. When I was eight or nine, I overheard them talking about how I was adopted. At first, it didn't bother me so much. Just because they weren't my biological parents didn't mean that they were any less of parents, and that I didn't love them as much. But as time went on, and they still didn't tell me the truth, I got agitated. It wasn't like my real parents were alive and they were afraid I'd go searching for them – they'd died in a car crash, I'd learned, and my parents now had been asked to take me in.

I wouldn't have been mad at my parents if they told me a few years ago. What really angered me now was that they still haven't felt like it was that important to let me know. If I really didn't know, and they told me, say, at my high school graduation, it would've felt like my whole life had been a lie – excuse the cliché. Past a certain age – say, twelve – there are trivial things such as who your birth parents are that should have been addressed. But the fact that I'm sixteen years old, and am not supposed to know such a large fact about my life, creates animosity between my mom and I. She doesn't know where it comes from, though I hope she figures it out soon.

"Hey, Izzy."

I glanced up. Sora smiled from where she sat in front of me; she was holding our Physics worksheet and had turned around in her seat, so that she faced me.

"Do you think you could help me?" she asked. "I'm really confused on number four and five... and, er, six and seven, too."

I nodded. "Sure." I pulled out my already completed science homework and began explaining the problems to her.

It took a good twenty minutes, but soon she understood it. As she scribbled away, she said, "Are you going to the soccer game on Saturday, Izzy?"

I blinked and didn't answer right away, surprised that she was expressing an interest in my social life – or, at least, a pretend one.

"Uh, I don't know," I said. "I hadn't been planning on it..."

My friends didn't participate in extracurricular activities such as sporting events and school dances. We preferred to stay after school as long as possible to mess with the school computers, and once we're kicked out, we retreat to one of our houses and continue with our studies.

"You should go," she said earnestly. "Tai says the team is really good this year, right?"

I only just noticed that Tai was sitting in the desk beside Sora. He looked at me from over his shoulder. "Yeah, we're gonna kick ass this season."

"What about you, Matt?" she directed to the boy on her other side.

"No," he said shortly. "I have band practice."

"Aw, come on," she said. "It'll be fun."

"I can't," said Matt firmly. He was bent over his desk, working on homework.

Sora looked over at Tai, who raised his eyebrows in an "I told you so" type of gesture.

"Well..." stammered Sora, recovering, "you should come if you can, Izzy. It'll be fun."

**-Sora-**

Why do I even bother?


	3. Chapter 3

**November 9, 2009**

**AN:** Teehee. I forgot about this story again. Apologies, my faithful five or six readers. But I'm sure you will understand the situation. The day after I posted chapter 2, I flew 3,000 miles across America to attend a wedding, got sick on the plane ride home, and spent my last week at home before departing for my freshman year of college with a fever, sore throat, and a cough. Luckily, I got better the morning of my departure. And then, of course, I was in college with a lot to do that took away from any writing time whatsoever. I have now been in college for over two months and am adjusted fairly well. And one Saturday morning, nursing a hangover, I remembered that I was a writer on a website called fanficion. And here I am.

I still haven't written much of this story since, oh, Julyish (I have six chapters written – I can't remember if I mentioned that before). But I'm sure I'll get some inspiration and start writing it again. Besides, I'm on the inspiration train right now – in addition to updating this story, I'm posting the prologue of another. So scurry on over to my profile and go read The Ultimate Sacrifice. It's short and, I think, good! But if not, enjoy all twelve pages of this beauty and leave a kind or constructive or mean or whatever review if you like.

* * *

_Odaiba High_

Chapter 3

**-T.K.-**

The day of the soccer game dawned warm and sunny, which didn't match my mood at all.

I didn't want to get out of bed, I didn't want to go to the game, I didn't want to go with Kari, and I didn't want to live in this stupid town.

Kari's nice and everything, and she could probably be a good friend, but I just want to go home – to my _real_ home. At my old home, no one used their seniority to bully a freshman into flirting with his younger sister. At my old home, I wasn't forced to bond with a brother I had nothing in common with. At my old home, I was happy.

I didn't want to stand Kari up, though. I hadn't exactly asked her to go to the game with _me_, per se, but I had promised her I would go and that we would sit together.

Mustering up a large amount of will power, I finally crawled out of bed, showered to wake myself up, and got dressed. Mom chastised me for my disheveled appearance, as usual.

"Your hair is sticking straight up in the back! No girl will be impressed with that. And _what_ are you wearing? Jeans? And a WHITE sweatshirt? You're going to get grass stains all over that."

I waited patiently for her to finish, pouring myself a bowl of cereal and skimming over the comics as she went on and on. Once I was done, I set my bowl in the sink and said, "Can you drive me?"

She stopped mid-sentence, something about how I would end up all alone (all because of my white sweatshirt), regained her breath, and said, "Sure."

Once we had loaded ourselves into the car and started the drive, Mom asked me, "So… why isn't Matt taking you?" She tried to make her tone sound casual but I could see right through it. She and Matt haven't spoken since we moved here and I knew that she was bringing him up for a reason.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think he's going. I don't think school pride type of events are really his 'scene.'"

Mom nodded. "That makes sense." She cleared her throat. "So, um, you should invite Matt over for dinner sometime."

I stared out the window and didn't say anything for a moment. I'd purposely neglected to tell my mom that I already had, and that Matt had blatantly refused. Okay, he didn't _really_, but I'm about ninety-four percent sure that he didn't have a gig last night. Sure, I may be ticked off at Mom for making me move here, but I wasn't going to tell her something that would hurt her just for the sake of it. "Sure," I said finally. "But Matt's really busy with his band and stuff… most nights he isn't home." I said this for a couple of reasons: to not get my mom's hopes up and to make it sound like Matt and I had bonded, and thus this is a fact that I knew about him.

"Oh… well, okay," Mom said. I took a side-glance at her and felt a twinge of pity. Our parents' divorce wasn't any more her fault than it was our dad's, and all Mom wanted was for Matt to love her like a son should love his mother. Even moving me here, while I'm not happy about it, was something Mom did for _me_. She left her friends and transferred jobs because she wanted her sons to have a good relationship. I frowned and leaned my head against the window, feeling very tired all of a sudden.

A few moments later we pulled up to the school, and I was shocked to see how crowded the place was. The student parking lot, which was the parking lot near the soccer field, was completely filled – it wasn't even that full on school days. The line to get in to the stadium stretched across fifty feet and the bleachers were already three-quarters of the way filled.

"Wow," Mom said, gaping, as I started to open the door. "I've never seen a sports event so lively on a Saturday morning before… except a professional one."

"Soccer's big here, I'm told," I said in answer, sliding out of the car. "Thanks Mom. I think I can get a ride home."

"Are you sure?" she asked. After I nodded, she said, "Okay. Well, call me if you need me. Have fun!"

I half-smiled. "Thanks." I shut the door and walked toward the end of the line, which kept getting longer – for every person that was let in to the stadium, another three hopped in line. I took out my phone and found Kari's number, which I was lucky enough to acquire the day before. I didn't expect in my wildest dreams for the game to be this crowded.

Kari answered on the second ring: "Hello?" she said loudly, clearly in the middle of a raucous group of people.

"Hey! I just got here and I'm in line – where are you?" I nearly yelled back, covering up my other ear so as to hear her better.

"I'm in line too, almost at the front. Come up here!"

I glanced wearily at the long stretch of people between me and the ticket booth. "I don't want to cut in front of all the people –" I started.

She laughed. "Don't worry about it, T.K. – no one will care. Come on, I'm almost to the front!"

I flipped my phone shut and stepped out of line, creeping up to the front. I was worried that at any moment, a burly man would stick out his arm and ask me angrily why I was going right up to the front, but no one seemed to care or even notice. I spied Kari at the ticket booth with two adults that shared her brown hair and sidled over to them. "Hi," I said.

She spun around and beamed. "Just in time! How are you?"

"I'm good. A little overwhelmed, though," I said truthfully.

"Didn't you say that a ton of people watched the football games at your old home?" Kari questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know anybody here."

"Kari, who's your friend?" the woman behind her asked.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!" Kari turned. "Mom, Dad, this is T.K. He's new this year. T.K., these are my parents."

"Nice to meet you," Kari's father said, shaking my hand.

"How do you like Odaiba so far?" asked her mother politely.

I shrugged. "It's nice. I haven't seen much of the city yet. The only places I've really been are the school and some restaurants scattered around suburbia."

"So you've seen pretty much everything," Kari's dad said, and Kari and her mother laughed.

They bought their tickets and I bought mine, and I followed them inside the stadium. There was a very crowded snack bar on the other side of the field and a huge set of bleachers, with probably ten to fifteen rows of seats that stretched along three-fourths of the field. At the top was a commentator's box. Past the bleachers was a stretch of grass on which many people, most of them seemingly high school students, sprawled upon on blankets and under umbrellas. On the other side of the field was the visitor's side; their bleachers were smaller and less packed.

"Let's go," Kari beckoned me after her. I hadn't realized during my observation of the stadium that her parents had separated from us to join their friends in the bleachers; Kari was leading me past the bleachers over to the grassy knoll, and I noticed finally the blanket tucked under her arm.

We reached the stretch of grass and Kari spread out the large blanket in an area near the front; she sat down and brushed at her jeans, smiling up at me. "Sit down!" she encouraged. I had been too busy looking around us at all the other students; many looked familiar but I hadn't formally met any of them. In fact, I hadn't really met anyone except for a few people in my classes.

I sat down next to Kari and asked, "So, this is how Odaiba spends every Saturday morning?"

She nodded. "Rain or shine. It gets even more crowded during playoff season, if you can believe it."

I shook my head, chuckling. "I can't. Are there more people living in this town?"

Grinning, she responded, "Maybe five." She closed her eyes and laid back on the blanket, smiling into the sunlight. "So how was your first week?" she asked lazily. "I hope you're starting to get used to Odaiba more."

I shrugged, even though she couldn't see me. "Kind of. It's just hard though… I keep thinking about what I would be doing back home and it makes me miss it. But I'm enjoying myself so far. And I'm sure it'll get better… it's only been one week."

"Exactly!" said Kari. "You'll meet more people and start your own traditions and make new experiences. You'll learn to love Odaiba."

"Well, I better," I said, smirking. "It's my home until I leave for college."

Kari took out her cell phone from her pocket and checked the time. "Still have fifteen minutes," she said. "I wonder where –"

"Hey Kari!" someone interrupted.

Sitting up and putting her hand over her eyes like a visor, Kari looked up. "Oh, hey Sora! I was just about to call you!"

Sora smiled at me and sat down on my other side on the blanket. She produced from behind her back an ice chest. "I got the food!"

"Awesome!" Kari said excitedly, sitting up on her knees and opening it. Inside was an array of soda cans, chips, dip, and water bottles.

"I brought more than I needed," Sora said, perhaps watching me mentally count the number of drinks, "but that way we can distribute the wealth."

"Good idea," Kari said. She glanced over at me. "This is Sora and my tradition for the soccer games. And we have generously decided to let you in on it."

"We decided that this year, we're going to try and get as many people involved as possible," Sora explained.

"Why this year?" I asked curiously.

"A few reasons," responded Sora. "One: because Kari's finally in high school and can cheer for the Odaiba Mustangs with pride without feeling like she's cheating on the middle school Jaguars. Two: because it's my last year. And the third reason ties it all together: this is the only year we'll be at this school together."

I nodded in understanding. "I see. Those are fantastic reasons. But were you only able to get me to come?"

Kari glanced at Sora. "Yeah. I got my person. Did you get yours?" She smirked.

Sora sighed. "No. I'm such a loser. I invited Izzy Izumi, my Physics partner, but I don't think he'll come. And I invited Mimi, but I forgot that she has to cheer. I also invited your brother, T.K., but he said he had band practice. Why his band is practicing on a Saturday morning is beyond me –"

I've spent minimal time with Matt since moving here, but I was starting to realize that he uses his band to get out of everything that he doesn't want to do.

**-Mimi-**

There are two things that go through my mind before every game I cheer for, and both things I would never, ever admit.

Number one: I always get kind of nervous before the game starts.

Number two: Sometimes I wish I could be one of the people lying out on the grass, instead of watching the game and pretending to care.

It's always kind of nerve-racking before we go out there, especially in Odaiba because so many people come out to every game. I've been to cheer camps before and met other cheerleaders who talk about how their schools lack any spirit at all and they rarely have an audience unless they're at a competition. Well, that's not how it is here. We always have an audience, whether it be for soccer or basketball. If there isn't an audience, we don't cheer. That's partly why we don't cheer for football.

And sometimes, I wish I could just relax. I wish I didn't have to wake up at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday morning to be at the school by 8:30 to change, coordinate hair and make-up with my fellow cheerleaders, make sure we know what routines we're doing and do a final run through. Then we have to wait around for the soccer players to finalize their strategies, actually go out and cheer, and then afterward we have to stay behind for thirty to forty-five minutes for our coaches to tell us everything we did wrong. It's an all day affair for us and sometimes I just wish that I could wake up at 9:30 like everyone else, sit out on the grass and tan and sip lemonade and socialize while only mildly paying attention to the game.

But my love for cheering outweighs that desire, so, year after year, I return. And I hope to get captain next year, which means even _more_ time invested.

"Alright, girls, are you ready?" Coach Timber asked us for the eighth time that morning. We all nodded, our curly ponytails bobbing with every shake. I gripped my pom-poms in anticipation; I just want to get out on the field. Once I'm out there, my nerves obliterate. But the waiting part is what knots my stomach. "Okay, let's go."

We exited the locker room at the same time the soccer team left theirs. The locker rooms were right behind the visitor's bleachers, and as we emerged into the eyesight of the stadium, everyone's voices began to quiet down.

My fellow cheerleaders and I stood in two lines facing each other on the edge of the field, waving our pom-poms up in the air as the commentator began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a loud, enthusiastic welcome to the Odaiba Mustangs soccer team!" He roared, and the home side of the bleachers broke into loud cheers. The announcer named off the name of every starting player and their position, ending with Tai Kamiya as starting forward and captain. Each player ran in between the lines of cheerleaders as their name was called, and at the end the rest ran through together to join their coaches on the sidelines. Once all the introductions had ceased, and the two teams were doing some even more last minute strategizing, the cheerleaders took our spots between the home side sidelines and the crowd.

Facing the visitors, we broke into our first cheer: "Salt makes you thirsty, pepper makes you sneeze! But when it comes to soccer, we make you buckle at your knees! Goooo Mustangs!"

I beamed as I jumped up and down and high-kicked, remembering why I loved the sport. The rush that I get when I hear my squad's and my shouts echoing throughout the stadium, standing in view of everyone in the warm sun – two feelings that I love.

**-Sora-**

I kinda miss soccer. Sometimes when I go to Tai's games, I get frustrated seeing some of these players because I know that I'm better than most of them. But I also miss just being able play the game. I played it for so long and it was such a big part of my life. Even though I love tennis and don't regret quitting soccer for it, it's still kinda sad sometimes. It's like losing your first love.

I pulled out my phone and twirled it slightly in my fingers, feeling very much like a third-wheel. I've known Kari for forever and she's probably one of my closest female friends, but she's already seemingly closer with T.K. than she ever was with me. The two of them have been talking nonstop since I got here, about everything and nothing. I'm glad that Kari finally has a good friend – Tai always worried because she had a lot of casual friends but never someone like a best friend – but I just wish that there was someone else for me to talk to. I found myself scrolling through my contacts to Matt's name. Would it be weird if I texted him? My heart rate increased at the thought. Yes, very weird. We're not even really friends, and I already invited him and he said no. How pathetic would I look if I invited him again?

I shook my head and ran a hand through my red hair, irritated at myself.

A girl walked by, her dark hair in a ponytail and covered with a bandana. In her hand was a hotdog. Upon noticing her, Kari yelled, "Hey! Yolei!"

The girl jumped and glanced around. "Oh… hey Kari. How are you?" She wore very large, round glasses and seemed puzzled at the exchange.

"I'm great! Hey, do you wanna sit with us?" Kari asked, smiling. "The more the merrier!"

"Uh… sure," said Yolei apprehensively. "Let me just go let my parents know –" She stopped suddenly and blushed, turning on her heel and quickly walking away.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Yolei. She's a sophomore," Kari replied. "T.K. and I have P.E. with her. Our numbers are right next to each other so I've been talking to her a lot this week. She's really nice and funny. I invited her to the game yesterday but she said she wasn't sure if she was coming."

Smirking, I said, "Kari, you're not just trying to get more people than me for our recruitment, are you?"

Kari laughed. "No, I swear! I like Yolei. Besides, I have more than you, anyway."

I nodded. Kari was like that – she wanted to be friends with everyone, hence why she is on friendly terms with nearly every person in the freshman class.

"Yolei's nice," T.K. agreed. "A little weird."

Kari giggled at him. "A little. I think it's mostly when she's around Davis, though. She's always annoyed when he's around, but when it's just her and I, she's more normal."

I raised my eyebrows suggestively. "Oh? Do she and Davis have a –"

"No," said Kari and T.K. at the same time. "They hate each other," T.K. finished.

I frowned. "Oh. I was hoping that Davis might have finally found a girl to take his mind off you, Kari."

Kari shook her head. "His crush will end soon, though. He'll find someone else."

"Maybe you'll find someone else," said T.K., "and then Davis will back off."

"Davis is too persistent," I said.

Kari nodded in agreement. "Plus, I'm not interested in dating. I'm fourteen; what do I need a boyfriend for?"

Our conversation was halted by the reappearance of Yolei. She sat down next to Kari and started unwrapping her hot dog.

"We haven't met before, Yolei," I began. "Hi, I'm Sora." I smiled and held out my hand to shake.

Yolei shook my hand. "You come to these games a lot, right? I saw you last year."

I nodded. "Yeah. Tai Kamiya's my best friend so I sort of have to go."

"My sisters make me go," Yolei said. "They've both graduated already but they half-wish they were still in high school. And honestly, the only reason I come is because if I didn't, my parents would make me work at our store."

"Your family has a store?" Kari said in surprise.

"Yeah. It's creatively christened, 'The Mart,'" Yolei said sheepishly.

"Oh, I've been there!" exclaimed Kari.

Sora nodded. "Me too. I think everyone has."

"Even I have," said T.K. "And I've only been here for a week."

"That's so cool that that's your store!" Kari said earnestly. "So do you get free food?"

Yolei laughed. "I wish. I kind of do, but then my parents bug me to pay them back so the joyous emotion is usually short-lived. And the best part? They don't pay me to work in it."

My jaw dropped. "What? That's awful!"

Rolling her eyes, Yolei said, "Yeah, they say that 'the store is what's supporting me' anyway, so why should they pay me more?" she finished sarcastically.

"I could never do that," Kari said truthfully.

T.K. nodded in agreement.

Yolei just shrugged and took a bite from her hot dog. Silence overtook us as we started to focus more our attention on the game. The score was still zero to zero, and the teams were pretty evenly matched. The ball would spend about a minute on one side of the field before switching. As a soccer expert, I can spot a boring game when I see one, and this was one of them.

"So, T.K.," I said, starting up conversation. Kari, T.K., and Yolei all turned to me eagerly, as if ready for their attention to be taken away from the game. "You moved here from Kyoto, right?"

He nodded.

"That must've been rough. Right outta junior high," I mused.

T.K. just shrugged. "Yeah, it was kind of annoying. But I have to deal with it, I guess. Hopefully I'll become close with Matt before he graduates."

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding. "You should invite him," I suggested casually, out of the blue. "What better way to bond?"

It took one second for me to blush. I couldn't figure out why I was so intent upon getting Matt to this game. They knew that I'd already invited him, and here I was, suggesting it again. I guess I just liked spending with him.

T.K. shrugged. "Might as well…" He took out his phone. "Hey, Matt?" he said, after the boy answered.  
"It's me. Yeah. Well, I was just wondering if you'd like to come to the soccer game… yeah, I'm here. I'm sitting with Sora, Kari, and Yolei Inoue. Well, I thought you and I could hang out or something… yeah. Okay. Bye." He flipped his phone shut.

"What'd he say?" I asked.

"He said he's busy, but maybe." He shrugged again. "He's kind of anti-social."

"I'd noticed," I remarked. Even though we've never really been friends, after going to the same school as someone since fifth grade, a person realizes things like that. "Sorry that you're outnumbered by so much estrogen, T.K.," I added. "I tried to invite guys."

T.K. laughed. "It's okay. It's the thought that counts. We'll just have to focus on getting more guys here for next week. Maybe Matt's 'band practice,'" he used air-quotes, "can be rescheduled next week."

**-Davis-**

Soccer games are always so intense. But now that I'm on _varsity_, they're even more intense. Sure, I'm not a starter, and I may be one of those players that only play when we're really winning or really losing, but I can still see how intense it is from the bench.

Okay, maybe the game was kinda boring. But it's still intense. It has to be – it's varsity soccer!

I stifled a yawn. If there was one thing I would change about soccer games, it would be how early they are. I don't enjoy waking up early six days of the week. I love sleeping. I'll probably spend all of Sunday sleeping, waking up only to eat. If there's anything I love as much as sleeping, it's definitely eating.

I glanced behind me. The stands were completely filled – I remember the days when I sat in those stands with my parents and my older sister, Jun. Well, actually, Jun would sit on the lawn with her friends (since that's where all the "cool high school kids" sit, apparently), but my whole family would go. I spotted my parents sitting with some of their friends, and when my mom made eye contact with me, she waved broadly. I blushed and turned around quickly. Why was she so tactless!?

A few moments later, I decided it was safe to turn around again. I stared at the backs of the cheerleaders as they led the crowd in one of their cheers. The only problem with being a freshman on the varsity soccer team is that the cheerleaders won't look twice at me. The varsity cheerleading team is made up of mostly juniors and seniors, with the occasional sophomore, but for whatever reason they don't want to give freshmen the time of day. Whatever! They should all be fawning over me. After all, I _am_ the only freshman on the varsity team.

Although… I guess it's not as impressive as Tai being the first ever freshman to actually start in a varsity game. I scowled. Always second best.

I was ripped out of my day dream by a loud scream. I stared, open-mouthed, at the cheerleaders as one girl was thrown up in the air – and instead of being caught on her way down, she hit the ground.

There was a mild uproar. People in the stands started screaming and jumping up, and the players on the field stopped what they were doing to crane their necks and find the source of the commotion. The referee blew his whistle to signal a timeout, although most people weren't paying attention by that point.

My fellow benched teammates and I also sprang from our sitting positions to glance at the injured girl. She was lying in a heap in the middle of her fellow cheerleaders, and I recognized her as Serena Dirt, a senior. Her right arm was bent at a weird angle, so unnatural looking that I felt sick and looked away from it.

"Oh my God, what happened?!" people were shouting.

"Did anyone call 911?"

There was no need for that, however – there is always an EMT at OHS's sporting events. I've been coming to these games ever since I was little and I remember asking my dad about them. He said that sports always have a level of danger to them, so there was always an EMT available just in case. That's also why there are always a couple of police officers on hand.

The EMT rushed forward, pushing through the crowd of cheerleaders, athletes, and coaches to get to Serena. The police officers, meanwhile, had entered the stands and ordered that everyone remain seated.

"It's just a break," the EMT said as he laid a portable stretcher on the ground next to Serena, who was whimpering. "I need one of you to help me."

Coach Timber stepped forward and helped to gently lift Serena onto the stretcher. She and the EMT carefully carried Serena out of the stadium, with everyone watching aptly.

My heart was pounding. I never thought anything this exciting would happen at my first game! How awesome! Well, not awesome that Serena broke her arm, but awesome that I'll always remember it!

The game resumed, although most people had stopped watching the game and instead watched as Serena was treated by the EMT before being whisked away in an ambulance.

**-Kari-**

I was very shaken following the incident with Serena Dirt. I hadn't actually seen what happened, but as soon as everyone started yelling I glanced over and saw her lying on the ground with her arm all mangled. I've never been able to stand the sight of blood or broken bones, so I had to look away.

"Oh my God, I hope she's okay!" Sora cried as Serena was carried away.

"Is every soccer game this eventful?" asked T.K.

I shook my head. "No, nothing like this has ever happened before!"

"Your expectations for every game after this will probably be really high now," joked Yolei.

Sora frowned. "Man, Mimi is going to kill my ear talking about this on Monday."

"Did anyone see what happened?" I asked. "I didn't actually see her fall –"

"I did," Yolei said. "Mimi tripped backwards over something and the other two weren't able to catch Serena. I think she put her arms out to break the fall."

Sora frowned. "That's awful."

The cheerleaders had retreated back to the locker room and the rest of the game remained cheer-less. A few moments after Serena was driven away in the ambulance, a shadow was cast upon our blanket as someone approached. I glanced up and recognized T.K.'s brother, Matt.

"Matt!" said T.K. in surprise. "You made it."

The older boy nodded as he sat down next to Sora. "Just in time, too. I got here just as that girl fell. Pretty dramatic, huh?"

"Very," Sora said. "I thought you had band practice?"

"It ended early," Matt said shortly. He glanced over at the scoreboard. "Zero-zero? Sounds like an exciting game."

"The most exciting part was a cheerleader breaking her arm," Yolei said.

"It's hard to beat that," T.K. added.

Matt looked at T.K. "Dad wants us to get lunch with him today. He has to work late tonight but he got a couple hours off for lunch."

T.K. nodded. "Alright."

"Mimi and Tai both told me that there's an after party type thing at this girl Mindy's house tonight," Sora said. "You guys should all come. Tai's going to force me to go but chances are he'll get preoccupied. I'll need some company."

I shrugged. "Maybe. I've never been one to enjoy big parties like that."

T.K. nodded. "Yeah, I'll think about it. I guess it might be a good idea since I'm new here and all."

Blushing, Yolei said, "Uh – I don't think I can. I have to, um, work tonight."

Sora frowned. "Too bad." She glanced over at Matt. "What about you, Matt?"

The older boy shrugged. "Maybe."

**-T.K.-**

After the ending of the game (OHS ended up winning, 1-0), Matt and I said our farewells to Kari, Sora, and Yolei and began the slow process of filing out of the stadium to meet our dad at a restaurant across town.

"So what made you decide to come?" I asked cordially.

Matt shrugged, his hands in his pants pockets. "Band practice ended early and I didn't really want to go home to an empty house."

I nodded. We lapsed into another silence as we slowly exited the stadium. Once out, we walked past the locker rooms on our way to Matt's car just as Tai strode out of the locker room, his sports bag over his shoulder. "Hey, T.K.!" he called. Matt and I glanced over at him with our eyebrows raised. "And Matt," Tai added with less enthusiasm as he approached us.

"Uh… hi, Tai," I said. Matt said nothing.

"Are you guys going to Mindy's party tonight?" he asked us.

"I don't know," I said. "I was thinking about it. Why?"

"Well…" he said slowly. "I don't know. I was thinking you and Kari could both go. I mean, I was planning on taking her and it'd be good if she had another friend there too, you know? I don't know how many other freshmen will be at this party."

I scowled slightly. So this was all just another ruse for Tai to get Kari and me to flirt again. I sighed silently and decided that there would be no use in fighting him on it. "Sure. I'll ask her."

"Oh," Tai said, his eyes wandering over to Matt. "You can come too, Matt." I could tell that he'd rather not have Matt there, but he was also smart enough to know that it would look suspicious if he didn't invite Matt. Not that he wasn't acting suspiciously anyway.

"Maybe," Matt grumbled, providing Tai with the same response he'd given Sora. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to be somewhere." He beckoned me to follow him as he walked off. I took one last glance back at Tai, who winked and gave me a thumbs-up.

"What was that about?" Matt asked me, once we were far enough away from Tai.

"Beats me," I said. "I guess Tai just took a liking to me." I figured Matt didn't believe me – really, who would? – but, in true Matt fashion, he didn't press the matter.


	4. Chapter 4

**January 16, 2010**

**AN:** So I meant to post this back in December. I finally finished chapter 6 after working on it since July and felt like I was on a roll and was going to finish chapter 7 as well. Weeeelll… that didn't happen. I didn't even start chapter 7. But oh well. I'm just going to post this anyway. Maybe I'll write some of it tonight.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

_Odaiba High_

Chapter 4

**-Mimi-**

Well, I screwed up.

I've never made such a mistake before. Never before have my actions directly resulted in someone being hurt. And Serena didn't just get hurt – she broke her arm in two places! All because I had to go and trip.

After the game ended and all my fellow cheerleaders and I had changed back into our normal clothes, Coach Timber told us we were going to visit Serena at the hospital. My best friend, Phoebe Jenkins, drove me and our other friend Mindy Yelsun since she had picked us up that morning before the game. Phoebe is a year older than Mindy and me and also the captain of the squad.

"I can't believe you did that, Mimi," Phoebe snapped as soon as we were in her car.

"What?" I said, taken aback. "What did I do?"

Phoebe glared at me. "What did you do?! You fucked up! You made the squad look like amateurs out there! Only junior high squads trip and drop people! We will never be able to recover from this!"

I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest. "I think you're overreacting a little, Phoebe. People make mistakes all the time –"

"No, they don't!" she spat. "You're the only one that's ever done anything like this before."

I turned my head to look out of the window, my eyes starting to fill with tears. "Why does it sound like you're more worried about the squad than about Serena?"

"Oh, don't pull that on me," scoffed Phoebe. "Don't try to make me act like the bad guy here. I'm going to have to work all season to make sure everyone forgets about this little slip-up – which will probably be impossible. People are already saying this will be the most memorable game ever and it's not because of the soccer team."

Mindy remained obediently silent in the back seat during the entire exchange, and Phoebe and I didn't say anything more to each other during the ten minute drive to the hospital. I determinedly stared out the window so they couldn't see that I had tears in my eyes. I felt so horrible for what I'd done. Phoebe was right; I can't afford to make mistakes like that. There are differences between being half a second too late on a move and dropping a girl that causes her to shatter her arm. No one was ever going to be able to forgive me for this.

We reached the hospital and met up with Coach Timber and the rest of the squad in the waiting room. The receptionist told us that Serena was still being examined and that we would have to wait a while until we could see her. Phoebe avoided eye contact with me and sat with our other friends, Angela and Kelly. Mindy glanced sympathetically at me before joining them. I wasn't particularly close with any of the other girls on the squad, so I dejectedly sat next to Coach Timber. I kept my head down and took a couple deep breaths to keep myself from crying again.

"Mimi, I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened today," Coach Timber's rough voice said in my ear.

I looked up at her, surprised. Coach Timber rarely ever compliments us, constantly criticizing us and telling us what we're doing wrong. It works well with her deep, manly voice. So to hear her, a woman that never hesitates to tell a person that they're ruining an entire routine, say that was shocking. "Wh-what?"

She put her hand on my shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes. I don't want you to blame yourself and I'll make sure the other girls don't as well. You tripped over a poorly placed pom-pom – the accident was completely out of your control."

I smiled lightly. "Thanks, Coach."

We had to wait about thirty minutes before we were allowed to see Serena. A doctor led us down a few hallways to her room, where she was lying in bed with a thick cast covering her entire right arm, starting from her wrist and ending at her shoulder. Her parents were in there as well.

"You can have a couple of minutes only," the doctor said, before exiting.

"How are you feeling?" asked Phoebe sweetly, her tone completely different from the one she used on me in the car. I wanted to roll my eyes but figured that might give off the wrong impression. I've known Phoebe for so long that I know she doesn't really care about how Serena is. The two of them have never gotten along so well. I can't figure out why, though. Serena's always been nice to me – and everyone on the squad, frankly.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. "It doesn't really hurt anymore."

"That's good," cooed Phoebe. "I hope you realize, though, that you won't be cheering for us anymore this year. We'll have to replace you."

"Is this really the time for that?" Coach Timber said harshly.

Phoebe shrugged innocently. "I don't know if I'll be able to see her again before Monday, so I thought it might be best to discuss now."

Serena frowned deeply. "I know," she said softly. "Don't worry, I know you will have to replace me."

I stepped forward, approaching the side of Serena's bed. "Serena," I said earnestly, "I just wanted to tell you – I'm really sorry about what happened. I hope you can forgive me."

Serena half-smiled. "Of course, Mimi. It was just an accident."

"Yeah, Mimi, none of us are mad at you," another senior girl, Gabrielle, said.

I glanced over at Phoebe, who was scowling at me.

**-Kari-**

When Tai finally got home from the soccer game that afternoon, he knocked loudly on my door and then entered without waiting for permission on if he could come in. I was lying on my bed, reading, when he walked in. I glanced up and said, "What if I had been changing?"

He ignored my comment. "So have you decided if you want to go to Mindy's party yet?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't think I'll have fun."

"Aw, come on!" he urged. "T.K. will be there."

"He said he would think about it at the game," I said.

"Well, I saw him after the game," Tai countered, "and he said he was gonna go. He also said he would text you about going with him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yup! Would I lie to you, little sister?" said Tai cheekily, grinning at me and getting up to leave my room. "I'll be leaving at nine, so let me know if you're going so I can drive you."

He left, and I pulled out my phone. I scrolled to T.K.'s name and sent him a text: _Are you going to Mindy's party?_

He answered a moment later: _Probably. Are you? We should go together._

I'd never been a fan of parties. And by parties, I don't mean sleepover birthday parties. I mean real, high school parties. I went to one last year and absolutely hated it. My friend had dragged me to it, since she had an older cousin that told her about it and she begged me to go with her. It had been an awful experience. Drunken high school students stumbling around, not even able to speak coherently. My friend had really wanted to try alcohol and after failing to talk her out of it, I was forced to hold her hair back as she puked up three shots of vodka. I always believed that that was evidence that no thirteen-year-old should be consuming alcohol – people aren't supposed to throw up so much after that small amount. Sora and Tai had found me later, and Tai, even though he was pretty drunk as well, was furious at me. Sora was sober so she offered to take me and my friend home. Tai was angry at me for a whole week, mad that I hadn't told him I was planning on going and that I'd even thought it would be a good idea. After I apologized about a thousand times and he forgave me, he said I couldn't go to another party like that until I was in high school and he was with me. Fast forward nine months to now.

I texted T.K. back: _Yeah, I guess so. Tai said we're leaving at nine. Should we pick you up?_

It took him about ten minutes to reply back. _Actually, Matt decided to go so he's going to pick me up. We'll go at nine, too. See you there!_

I glanced at my alarm clock. It was four 'o clock. Five hours until the party. Deciding to get out of the house for a little bit, I picked up my camera from where it hung from a hook on my wall and left my apartment.

**-Sora-**

I arrived at the Kamiya household a quarter before nine. Tai and I only live about a block away from each other and he agreed to drive me to the party. Since my house is in the opposite direction from Mindy's, I figured I'd save him the little bit of driving time by just walking over.

I've been friends with Tai for so long that I no longer knock on the door; I just let myself in. Tai's parents weren't home and the doors to both Tai and Kari's rooms were open. I poked my head into Tai's room first and announced my presence.

"Hey Sora," he said, not looking up from his computer video game. "I'll be ready in a sec."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I guess boys will be boys. I left his room and entered Kari's. Said girl was sitting on her bed, wearing a nice outfit and makeup.

"So you decided to go?" I assumed. Kari rarely wears makeup and typically has a very casual wardrobe.

She nodded. "Yeah. I figured I might as well. After all, if I don't, I'll just be sitting at home alone on a Saturday night and that doesn't sound very appealing today."

I laughed. "Good point. Do you know anyone else who's going?"

"T.K. said he was gonna go," she said, glancing up at me. "And Matt also."

My heart rate skipped a beat. "Matt? Really? He didn't seem interested when I told him about it."

Kari shrugged. "T.K. told me he was going."

I turned my head so Kari wouldn't see the small smile on my lips. However, the ever-so-intuitive girl must have noticed something because she said, quiet enough so that Tai wouldn't hear, "Is there something going on between you guys?"

"Me and Matt?" I repeated, and I laughed loudly. "Of course not! We're just friends." Kari didn't look like she believed me, so I added, "I'm just glad he and I are finally becoming friends after knowing each other for so long. I like hanging out with him."

"Alright," said Kari, although she still sounded unconvinced.

However, I knew how to turn the tables on her. "What about you and T.K.?"

"T.K.?" she stammered, and I could tell she was genuinely surprised. "Wha – no!"

I was slightly bummed because she actually sounded authentically shocked. But I convinced myself that she was just ignoring her feelings. "Mhm," I smirked. "Just wait."

Kari turned red and opened her mouth, gaping. "I never even – we're friends! He's new and I'm just the first person he met. Geez, Sora, I didn't even meet him a week ago!"

"Okay, okay!" I cried. "No need to get defensive."

Kari looked positively baffled. I left her to her thoughts and knocked on Tai's open door again. "Come on, we gotta go! Get off that damn computer!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Tai jumped up. "I just had to win first. Now I'm ready for celebratory activities."

Kari and I piled into Tai's ancient Oldsmobile. This poor car had belonged to Tai's father and grandfather before him and didn't have much life left in it. I remember when he was given this car on his sixteenth birthday and Kari told me she was glad that it was likely going to fall apart before it came to be her time to own it. However, Kari had only a year and a half until she turned sixteen and the car was still running.

"Alright Myrtle," Tai said as he started her up. "Mindy only lives six blocks away, so please don't give out on me."

Tai gives his car, christened Myrtle, this pep talk before every single time he drives it. One time, he was a half hour late to school and didn't give her the pep talk and she broke down four blocks from our school. Thus, he believes that these talks are what have kept her alive for so long.

The car puttered out of Tai and Kari's apartment complex and we miraculously made it to Mindy's house without losing any parts or killing the engine. Every time I ride in this car, I prepare myself to not reach my destination and am always so awed when I do.

We had to park one block over from Mindy's house because her entire street was already filled with cars. As we approached the front walk, where quite a few people were mingling on the porch and lawn, a few senior boys noticed us and cried, "Hey Tai! Sora! What's up?"

Before we could answer, another one said, "Tai, nice goal today! That was sick."

"Oh, it was nothing," said Tai bashfully.

"But what about Serena breaking her arm, eh?" a third boy mused. "That was rough."

"Phoebe said they're holding tryouts for a replacement on Monday." The first boy looked me up and down. "Sora, you should try out."

"No thanks." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, we don't need to see Sora in a cheerleading uniform," the second boy said. "We already get to see her in her tennis outfit."

I sighed in annoyance, stepping past Tai and the boys into the house, Kari following close behind. I saw Tai crack open a beer and made a mental note to, once again, not drink, as I would have to be the designated driver for the night.

Mindy's house was fairly large, but it was still crowded with so many people crammed inside of it. Kari and I pushed our way through the crowded living room and kitchen, already feeling very claustrophobic, and entered the backyard.

She had a large backyard as well, equipped with a pool, half-basketball court, stretch of grass, and ping-pong table. Quite a few people were scattered about out here as well, lounging on the grass, playing basketball, swimming, or playing beer pong.

"There's T.K.!" Kari said suddenly. I glanced over to see her walking towards the aforementioned boy and his older brother. Matt noticed her approaching and looked over her shoulder, seeing me. He smiled. I smiled back, feeling light as air.

That's a normal feeling for friends.

"Hey guys," Kari said as we reached them. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, a few minutes ago," said Matt. "I can't believe everyone's already drunk already. People really don't waste any time, do they?"

"Not really." I laughed.

"Hey, Sora!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Mimi, beaming. "Oh, hey Mimi!" I greeted, hugging the younger girl. "How are you?"

"I've been better," she said cheerfully.

I frowned. "Right, I forgot. How's Serena?"

"She's doing alright," said Mimi sincerely. "We all went and visited her today. I think I'll go back tomorrow too and bring her flowers. I just feel so bad!"

"Well, it's not your fault!" I told her.

She half-shrugged. "Well, anyway, how are you guys?" She looked around at the group. "I don't think I've met all of you before."

"My name's T.K."

"And I'm Kari."

"Oh, you're Tai's little sister, right?" Mimi said, smiling. Kari nodded. Mimi's eyes flickered over to Matt, and she smiled wider. "Hi Matt."

A loud battle-like cry rang out through the backyard and the five of us turned around to see a stark-naked freshman standing with his hands on his hips at the top of Mindy's rock-waterfall – the same freshman that looked just like Tai. "I'm king of the world!" he yelled drunkenly and jumped into the pool. Snickers and cat-calls erupted from other party-goers.

"Who is that!?" Mimi gasped, half-amused and half-horrified.

Kari was giggling uncontrollably, her hands over her mouth in an attempt to stifle it. "That's Davis Motomiya," T.K. said, also chuckling.

"He must be Jun Motomiya's brother," I noted.

Matt groaned. "That girl annoys me."

Mimi turned back to him and smiled. "So Matt, how are things with your band?" she asked.

"They're good," he said. "We're getting a few gigs lined up and gaining some exposure, which is good."

"Super!" Mimi beamed. "I love seeing you guys perform. You're awesome!"

"Er… thanks, Mimi."

"Anytime!"

"So, uh… how are things in the cheerleading industry?"

Mimi sighed. "Well, things were going stupendously until today. Now we have to hold tryouts and get some new girl to learn all our routines by the game next week – it's gonna be busy!"

"Yeah, sounds like it. That's a lot of bad luck."

She shrugged, her face still bright. "Yeah, but it's gotta be done! And I love cheering, so I don't mind!"

I glanced in between the two of them as they continued to chat away, frowning slightly. T.K. and Kari had wandered off and I felt immensely like a third wheel for the second time that day. Feeling dejected, I slunk off to go look for Tai.

**-T.K.-**

Kari and I separated ourselves rather quickly from Sora, Mimi, and Matt to wander around. It was strange being at a party like this, especially since Kari and I were seemingly the only freshmen – well, except for Davis, but as he was still doing backstrokes in the now otherwise empty pool, I didn't think he would be good company. I also wanted to keep away from Tai, because I knew that if he could see us, he would be watching to make sure I flirted with his sister.

The whole situation was so backwards.

"Having fun yet?" I asked.

"Not quite," Kari answered. "Besides, can anything really top Davis's entrance?"

We reentered the house, squeezing past people to cross to the front of the house, where we stepped back outside. There were a few people mingling out here, but none of them paid us any attention.

"If I'm being perfectly honest with you," said Kari, "I'm not really too interested in staying here much longer."

"What a coincidence," I grinned. "Neither am I. But what could we do instead? Neither of us can drive anywhere."

Kari frowned in thought. "Well…" she said slowly. "I live right behind Odaiba Lake and my apartment is only about six blocks from here. We can walk."

I nodded. "Let's do it."

We started our journey to the Kamiya residence, silent for the first few moments. Finally, I said, "So, there's a lake here too?"

Kari nodded. "It's not a very big one. It's kind of more like a big reservoir, actually. But it's just called Odaiba Lake."

"That's cool. And you guys live right behind it?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda funny; whenever my parents tell people from out of town that we live behind a lake, they automatically think we're really rich and probably live in a very expensive apartment. But really, Odaiba Lake is pretty ugly, and our apartment is no more expensive than any other one in town. My parents don't correct them anymore, though."

I laughed. "Is Odaiba Lake really that ugly?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, nodding. "The water is murky and gross. And there isn't a beach or anything. It's just dirt and weeds and hundred-year-old, half-dead trees surrounding it. The only people that go there are people our age. They just go there when there's nothing to do – like what we're doing now."

"Do people swim in the lake?" I asked.

"Not really," she said. "I mean, Tai and I have a few times, because we've lived there since I was two. When there's a large body of water twenty feet from your apartment and it's a hundred degrees in the middle of summer, you'll pretty much swim anywhere. Sometimes people will come and swim in it, but usually people just walk around it. The water's really cold all year round, so it only feels remotely nice when it's triple digits anyway."

"That's pretty cool," I said. "Odaiba is such a nice little town. I mean, you have the big city ten minutes away, but Odaiba is like its own little bubble. I guess that can be a bad thing in a way, but I like it. It's big enough so that you don't know everybody, but small enough that you know just enough people… you know what I mean?"

Kari giggled. "Not really."

I grinned. "It's hard to explain. Where I used to live, it was just a cluster of towns shoved together, so much so that even people that lived there for their whole lives didn't know where one ended and the other began. There were about eight high schools and my friends lived all over, some as much as a half an hour away. But here… it's one big town, you have everything you need here, and everyone that lives here goes to the same high school."

Nodding, Kari said, "Yeah, that makes a bit more sense. There's actually a sense of community here."

"That's exactly what I meant," I said, "and you summed it up in one sentence." I laughed. "I feel a little stupid right about now."

She smiled. "It's okay. It was fun listening to you try." After a moment, she added, "Hearing you say it like that makes me appreciate Odaiba a lot more. I always find myself complaining about how boring it is, but really it isn't. It just feels that way because I grew up here. The fact of the matter is that there really is a lot to do here. And it really is a very strong community-based town."

"Your whole town gathers into a crowded stadium to watch a high school soccer game," I said. "It can't get much better than that."

A few moments later we reached Kari's apartment complex. The apartments were two stories high and she pointed hers out to me, which was the one right in the middle in the second story. We didn't go up, however. We went around the side to the backyard behind her apartment.

"We share this with our downstairs neighbors," she said. "They let us install this little door in the fence a few years ago." She led me to the back fence, above which I could catch a glimpse of Odaiba Lake. She pushed on the fence, and two planks moved backwards. She pushed it until the two planks lay horizontally in midair, leaving a small, two-and-a-half foot space for someone to slip through. "Go on," she urged. I bent down and crept underneath the wood, emerging on the outskirts of the complex. Kari followed me and then fastened the planks vertically again.

"There's a huge fourth of July celebration here every year," Kari explained. "The whole town comes out; companies set up booths, food chains have tents, and some people have stations where they sell homemade jewelry and stuff. There are bounce houses, tons of food, places for fake tattoos, and a band. It's a huge deal. It costs, like, ten dollars a person to go, though, so my dad built this fence so we could kind of sneak in for free."

"That's awesome!" I said earnestly. "Your dad seems like a cool guy."

I finally looked around, taking in the view of Odaiba Lake. Kari was right – it was definitely very ugly. We were standing on a dirty path way underneath a few old trees right outside of her backyard. The small lake was probably only an acre or two in size, but it was molded so strangely that the size looked bigger. It seemed to be shaped like a circular horseshoe. One end of the horseshoe was closest to me and Kari, and the other end was a bit away. There was a stretch of dirty land and a large tree in between the two ends, and there was a small bridge going over the middle of the horseshoe.

"This is kinda cool," I said. "Yeah, it's ugly, but also cool. I wouldn't mind spending a summer here."

Kari shrugged. "Well, if I had to choose between Odaiba Lake and no lake, I would definitely choose Odaiba Lake."

She trembled next to me, and I glanced over at her. "Are you cold?"

"No," she said, but I saw the goosebumps.

Without thinking, I tugged my gray Kyoto sweatshirt over my head and handed it over to her.

"No, T.K., I'm not that –" she began, but I placed it in her hands anyway.

"I get hot easily," I insisted.

She smiled slightly and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. "That works out well," she said, rolling up the sleeves a little on the too-big sweatshirt, "because I get cold easily."

"So I'll just give you all of my jackets, then?"

"Sounds good to me."

We walked down the dirt path for a bit, circling the lake. Sure, it was kinda ugly, but it looked nice in the moonlight. We took a seat on the edge of the dirt, our feet dangling above the brown water, and sat in silence for a long time.

"I'm actually starting to become thankful that I moved here," I said, breaking the comfortable silence.

"I'm glad you moved here too," said Kari. "We haven't known each other that long but I feel more comfortable around you than a lot of people I've known for years."

"I agree," I said, nodding. "I guess there is a reason for everything."

Kari smiled. "I guess so."

**-Matt-**

After about ten minutes of conversing with Mimi Tachikawa, I had to pause and evaluate what was happening. Mimi and I are completely different people with absolutely nothing in common, and yet we had been able to hold a conversation for the past ten minutes without any awkward pauses. How did this happen? I've been going to the same school as Mimi since we were kids and she's always been one of the girls that I was annoyed with even though I didn't know her because she was such a stereotypical cheerleader. She clearly had no idea about this – in fact, I don't think she realizes we've been going to the same school since we were at Odaiba Elementary, because the first time I ever talked to her was the first day of school when she asked for my autograph.

However, it turns out that Mimi has a little more depth to her than I originally thought. She also has a pretty good taste in music; we don't really listen to the same things, but I respect what she likes.

"Where'd Sora go?" Mimi asked suddenly, glancing around.

I'd noticed a few moments ago out of the corner of my eye when Sora had slipped away. I thought she was going to get something to drink, but she didn't come back. I wonder if she'd gone to look for Tai.

"And my brother," I added. T.K. and Kari had disappeared as well.

"Weird," said Mimi. "Well, I think I'm going to get something to drink – want anything, Matt?"

I shook my head. "No thanks."

"I'll be right back!" She smiled at me before disappearing into the house. I sat down in one of the plastic chairs near the pool and the one next to me was filled seconds later by Phoebe Jenkins.

"Hey Matt," she said, beaming. "How are you?"

"Fine," I said shortly. Phoebe and I have also known each other all our lives – however, unlike with Mimi and me, we're in the same grade and therefore have had more social interactions. In sixth grade, she used to pick on me because I didn't have a lot of friends and was really quiet. I apparently changed a lot over the summer between sixth and seventh grade, because once we got to middle school the bullying completely stopped and instead she would blatantly flirt with me. Here we are, five years later, and nothing's changed.

"Saw you at the game today." She smirked and scooted her chair closer to mine so that our knees touched. "I don't think you've ever come to a game before."

"My brother was there," I said, "so I went to hang out with him."

"You have a brother?" Phoebe winked. "Is he as cute as you?"

I stared at her exasperatedly. She either is absolutely clueless or doesn't care that I constantly rebuff her.

"Oh, hey, Phoebe!"

We looked up and saw Mimi standing there, holding a glass in her hand.

She pulled up another chair and sat down. "The guy at the bar made me the cutest drink ever! Vodka and vitamin water!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes at me and I furrowed my brow in response. Aren't Pheobe and Mimi best friends?

"Did you see Serena fall at the game today?" Phoebe asked me suddenly. Mimi froze and stared at her friend.

"Yeah, I saw that," I said, confused.

Phoebe looked at Mimi and frowned. "It was pretty unfortunate."

Mimi glared at her friend and stood up. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to speak, but instead turned on her heel and stomped off.

I blinked a few times, absolutely lost. What had just happened? I glanced at Phoebe, who was smiling triumphantly at Mimi's retreating form. Suddenly remembering why I dislike any type of high school social gatherings, I got up and walked away, without saying anything to Phoebe.

**-Mimi-**

Gosh, Phoebe is such a bitch.

I've been best friends with her for years and I hate it when she gets like this. Usually she's very sassy, but she's not typically super bitchy like this! I can't even understand it!

I felt like I was going to cry again, but not from being upset this time – I was just so angry!

I ran into Sora in the side yard, where she was sitting alone, shredding a leaf and looking very bored. She looked up when she heard my footsteps and instantly took notice of my face. "Mimi!" she exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

I sat down next to her and frowned at the ground. "My friends are so mean."

"I'm sorry," she said carefully. "What happened? Where'd Matt go?"

Pouting, I folded my arms across my chest. "With Phoebe."

"Why…?" she prodded. "Mimi, you have to give me some more informative answers here."

I sighed deeply. "I don't know. I was sitting with the two of them and then she started talking about Serena and again how it was my fault – ugh! It was so embarrassing! Matt probably thinks I'm a freak now."

Sora put her arm around my shoulders. "I doubt that, Mimi. I don't think Matt is the type of person that would care about that sort of thing. And what do you mean, Phoebe was saying it was your fault?"

"Never mind," I grumbled. "Well, what are you doing out here?"

Sora half-shrugged. "Tai was doing shots and I didn't feel like joining and I couldn't find Kari. She and T.K. just disappeared somewhere. I came out here because it's quieter."

I nodded. "Do you not drink?"

"Not really," she said. "I don't really like the taste of alcohol. Besides, someone has to be the one looking out for everyone." She smiled lightly. "I'm like the parent here."

I frowned. "That's no fun."

"Well, someone's gotta do it," she repeated. "Tai likes to drink and if I wasn't here to watch him, who knows what kind of trouble he could get into. I'm usually his designated driver."

"Poor you," I said softly.

**-Yolei-**

Why did I lie?

I told Sora I couldn't go the party because I was working, but guess what? I'm definitely not. I'm sitting at home, on my computer.

I sighed. I wish I wasn't so anti-social.

**-Izzy-**

I must have forgotten that being part of the school's Computer Club meant that my friends and I couldn't have other topics of conversation.

Three of my friends, who are fellow Computer Club members, had just left my house and I sighed in relief, collapsing onto my bed. I enjoy talking about computers as much as the next person – especially with people who are on the same level as I am – but night after night after night of the same conversations gets a little dull. And every time I try to talk about something else with my friends, they roll their eyes at each other and just ignore me. It was getting on my last nerve.

I took out my cell phone and called Joe Kido, whom I have been friends with since my freshman year of high school. The two of us took some of the same classes when I was a freshman and he was a junior, and we became fast friends. We both had our own groups of friends, but we would go to each other to talk about things other than computers and biology, respectively. Joe graduated last year from Odaiba High and is currently a pre-med student at UC Davis, which is about five hours from Odaiba.

"Hey Izzy!" Joe yelled into the phone when he picked up. I could hear loud music and distant voices through the line.

"Oh – sorry Joe," I said. "It's Saturday night, I should have figured you'd be at a party."

"It's alright!" he practically shouted. "Did you need something?"

"Not really," I replied. "I was just gonna ask when the next time you're gonna come down to visit is."

"Um… I think I'm coming down two weekends from now. Is that cool?"

"Yup. Well, you're busy, so I'll let you go. See you then, Joe."

"Bye Izzy!"

I missed Joe. As I hung up my phone, I sighed. Joe and I got along really well and I might even consider him one of my best friends. My computer friends are nice to have, but they aren't really people that I love spending time with.

"Izzy." My mom knocked on my door and opened it. "How are you? Do you want to come watch a movie with your father and me?"

I shook my head. "No… not really, Mom. But thanks."

She frowned but said, "Okay. Well, good-night, then." She stepped out of my room and closed the door behind her.

I had decided that I would not be spending "quality" time with my parents until they decided to come clean about my adoption.


	5. Chapter 5

**February 26, 2010**

**AN: **I don't really know why I'm posting this. I probably shouldn't because after this chapter, I only have chapter 6 written and I am in danger of falling behind, but I just feel like posting this so I will. I've been thinking about writing this week but I've just been so busy that I barely have time. Sunday will be my study-all-day-in-the-library-day though, so I will be bringing my laptop with me and I'll probably write during study breaks. I tend to write the most when I'm procrastinating studying for school. That says a lot about me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

_Odaiba High_

Chapter 5

**-Mimi-**

I have mixed feelings about cheerleading tryouts. On the one hand, it's always so sad to deliver the heartbreaking news to all the girls that didn't make the squad. I hate crushing dreams! But on the other, it's always so fun so tell the select lucky girls that did make the squad!

Monday after school, the entire squad sat behind three pull-out tables in the gym for tryouts to replace Serena. Like I told Sora and Matt I would, I visited her on Sunday. By that point, the shock of her injury had worn off and she'd cried about how upset she was that she wouldn't be able to cheer in her final year of high school. I felt so sad for her but I think I did a good job comforting her. An insult or two may have been made about Phoebe. She was smiling by the time I left.

"Alright, we have six girls trying out," Phoebe said, glancing at the list in front of her. "Four seniors, a junior, and a sophomore." She sighed. "Let's get this over with."

The first two girls were pretty bad. I don't think either of them have had any type of formal dance training before. They seemed to have very stereotypical views of cheerleading; one of them just brought pom-poms and chanted one of our cheers whilst jumping up and down. When asked if she could do a back handspring, she stared blankly. The other one did a very basic cheer and then said we would have to teach her the rest if we wanted her.

A senior named Jun Motomiya was next. "I think I would be a perfect cheerleader," she practically shouted, "because I have a loud voice that carries!"

There was a small silence. "Is that it?" demanded Phoebe. "Because we need a little more from you."

"Oh, right!" Jun laughed loudly. She backed up and situated herself in a pre-move position. I leaned forward eagerly, hoping finally to find someone that could do a cheerleading move, but was immensely disappointed when Jun executed an absolutely horrific cartwheel. Her legs and arms were not straight and she fell upon landing.

"Thank you," said Phoebe curtly. "You can go."

Thankfully, the next two girls were simply marvelous! They could do every move that we fired at them, had perfect cheering voices, and at least had some background in dance. The final girl was okay, but the other two were clearly better.

"What are we gonna do now?" I sighed. "I can't decide which one was better!"

"Me either," said Angela. "What do you think, Phoebe?"

Phoebe shrugged. "I don't know. Mariah was better at the jumps but Demi was a really good dancer." She frowned. "This'll be a tough choice."

"If only we could have them both," Mindy sighed.

Nodding slowly, Phoebe said, "Yeah, if only."

**-Tai-**

Soccer practice after school on Monday was amusing. Davis had no recollection of Friday night.

**-Sora-**

Since it is now the second week of school and I haven't even started writing my partner essay on Matt, the two of us decided to spend after school on Monday working on it. Well, Monday night, actually. I had tennis practice for two hours after school and Matt had band practice. Afterwards, he invited me over to his house.

He opened the door and I felt instantly embarrassed that I was still in my tennis outfit. Here was Matt, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and I'm wearing a white mini-skirt. I tugged on it, slightly self-conscious.

"Hey," he greeted. "How was tennis?" He stepped back so I could enter.

"It was fine," I responded. "And band practice?"

"Fine."

Awkward silence.

"Well… I think I'm gonna change," I said, holding up my duffel bag. "Where's your bathroom?"

After I changed into a more casual outfit and pulled my hair into a ponytail, I joined Matt at his kitchen table with our English worksheets and Matt's laptop.

"Alright," he said, reading the handout Miss River had given us on the first day of school. "So… we have to write about where the other person was born, how many siblings they have, what their parents do, what activities they do outside of school, what they do with their friends – legal activities only, it specifies – what they want to do post-high school, and what career they want to have. Other information needs to be used if we still need to fill the three pages."

I sighed. "Are we in eighth grade? What a pointless essay."

"I cannot understand what benefit I'll get out of doing this essay," Matt said. "Other than getting to know you… but I doubt the school really cares about that." He sighed. "Well, let's start at the beginning. Where were you born?"

"Odaiba," I said. "Fascinating, isn't it? What about you?"

"Me too," Matt replied. "You're an only child, right?" I nodded. "And you know that I have a brother. What do your parents do?"

"My dad is a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder," I said. "And my mom is a flower arranger. She's kind of famous, I think, in the flower-arranging community."

He blinked. "Wait, your dad is a college professor in Colorado?" I nodded again. "Are your parents divorced?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "No. We don't see my dad a lot. He comes home for Christmas and a few weeks in the summer, but that's it."

"Why? I mean…" He paused and started over again. "Why don't you and your mom live in Colorado?"

"Well, my mom loves Odaiba and she didn't want to leave," I explained. "Plus her studio is here and everything. And I was in seventh grade when my dad got his job, so I didn't want to move to Colorado."

"That makes sense," Matt said. "Although it's pretty unorthodox."

I smiled. "I know. We're a weird family. Your turn. What do your parents do?"

"My dad is a consultant at Fuji TV," he said. "And my mom is a journalist."

"Cool!" I said earnestly. "Does your mom write for the Odaiba Telegraph?"

He shrugged. "I think so," he said.

I finished writing down Matt's answers and then put my pen down. "I think it's time for a break."

"Good idea." Matt stood up and led me into his living room. The two of us sat down on the couch and he turned on the television. An acoustic guitar was perched next to the couch. I picked it up, with Matt watching me. I strummed a couple basic chords and Matt raised his eyebrows. "You play guitar?"

"Not really," I said. "My dad can play and he taught me a little when I was younger. I only remember, like, three chords."

"Still," he said. "That's pretty cool. I never thought that you would be musically talented."

I smiled. "It's 'cause I'm just so sporty."

"Do you sing too?" he asked me.

"Oh, nooooo," I said, laughing. "No, no. No one wants to hear that."

"I'm sure you're not that bad," he reasoned.

"Trust me, I am," I insisted. "Tai's heard me sing before and even he told me not to do it ever again."

He smirked. "Tai also thinks I sing badly."

I blushed. "Well… that's different."

"I know, I know. I'm just kidding."

I smiled slightly. "I don't understand you guys. You know what I think? I think you guys could be really good friends."

Matt raised an eyebrow and stared at me. "Come again?"

"I do!" I said sincerely. "Really. You guys have some major differences, but you also have a lot of similarities."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" he challenged.

I frowned. "Well –" I thought hard. "There's – well – okay, I can't think of them off the top of my head, but I know that I've heard you say something before and thought, wow, he's just like Tai!"

Matt grinned. "Yeah, okay, Sora. Tai and I will never be friends. We haven't liked each other since middle school. And we only have nine months left together, so chances are a friendship won't bloom in that time."

"That's too bad," I said. "Because both you and Tai are great guys."

"I'll accept the loss."

**-Matt-**

"We should probably get back to work now," Sora announced after a very entertaining episode of an MTV reality dating show. We migrated back to my kitchen table.

"What do you want to do after high school?" I asked her.

"I'd like to go to college at Emroy or Armstrong Atlantic State," she said. "They're both in Georgia and really good tennis schools."

"What's the appeal of Georgia?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Nothing. It's just a coincidence, actually. What about you?"

"Well, ideally my band and I will try to make it big," I said. "But my dad wants me to go to college."

"And you don't?" she said.

"Not really," I said. "I'd rather focus all of my time on my band. Maybe I'll go to a community college for a while, just to please my dad."

Sora nodded. "That's probably a good idea. You can take a few general classes each semester until your band starts to become successful. If you go to a four-year school, you'll have less free time."

It struck me that she said "until" my band reaches success, not "if," and I stared at her in wonderment for a few seconds.

"What?"

I blinked. "Nothing… let's move on."

**-Kari-**

I was already waiting for Christmas break.

I was learning quickly that when our junior high school teachers told us that high school would be much more difficult, they were not empty threats.

And this is why I could be found on a Tuesday morning in my Homeroom classroom ten minutes before the bell rang, finishing filling in countries on my map of Africa for World Cultures, reading Act I, Scene I of Romeo and Juliet for English, and working on two worksheets for Algebra.

By the time the bell rang and the other students started to file in, I had finished my map and moved on to the reading. I had English second period and Algebra last, so I reasoned that it would be best to do the reading now and the math during lunch. School is all about learning how to prioritize.

I didn't even realize that T.K. had sat down next to me until he said, "Cutting it close?" and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Oh, hey T.K.," I said, breathing deeply. "Yeah, maybe just a little. I spent a little too much time on my Digital Art homework last night." I sheepishly nudged at the camera bag under my desk with my foot. "I'll get it all done though… I'm a champion at procrastinating."

Davis came in and greeted us (well, mainly me) before taking his seat in front of me. T.K. and I glanced at each other and smirked. Davis did not remember his drunken antics on Saturday night and I was certainly not going to be the one to tell him. I don't think I can ever look at him again without picturing him atop Mindy's rock waterfall, completely naked. The thought caused me to giggle.

A moment later he turned around and said, "Kari, can I copy your math homework?"

"I haven't done it yet, Davis," I replied. "I'm too busy reading sixteenth-century literature."

He scoffed at the book in my hand. "Please, Kari, it's called SparkNotes."

"I'll play it safe and read the actual book," I said. "It's only a few pages."

Davis sighed loudly. "_Fine_. Then let me see your history map." He grabbed my map of Africa off my desk and turned back around.

"Hey Kari, do you wanna get coffee after school today?" T.K. asked me.

There was a loud creak and both of us glanced up. Davis had spun around again in his seat and was glaring at T.K. "Wh-what did you say, M.T.?" he sputtered.

T.K. ignored him. "What do you say?" he asked. "Matt can drop us off on his way to band practice. The coffee shop is within walking distance to your apartment, I'm pretty sure."

"Are you talking about Joe Mamma's Coffee?" I suggested, and he nodded. "You're right, it is. Sure, let's do it!"

"Wait – what?!" Davis exclaimed. "The two of you – together – coffee – is this a – a da—"

I sighed. "Oh, Davis. Mind your own business."

"But – but –" Davis continued to stammer through the rest of Homeroom, during which time I managed to finish Romeo and Juliet and even a few problems for my Algebra homework. I grabbed my Africa map from Davis (which he had failed to copy due to the dramatic event that had transpired) just as the bell rang. Stuffing it in my bag, T.K. and I stood up to leave.

"We can work on our science homework together," I said as we neared our lockers, which were close to each other. After gathering our books, we headed up to the top floor.

"Science homework?" he repeated, blinking.

"When we get coffee," I reminded him.

"Oh – yeah, sure, that sounds good."

I looked at him strangely out of the corner of my eye as we climbed the stairs.

**-Sora-**

During Physics, we had to write up the beginning of our lap report before we perform the actual experiment tomorrow. Izzy and I read over the instructions and purpose of the lab before formulating our hypotheses and scribbling them down.

"Psst," came a hiss. "Hey. Sora."

I looked up and glanced around. Matt was leaning backwards, toward me. His and Tai's lab table was right next to mine and Izzy's. "What?" I whispered back.

"You're friends with that girl Mimi, right?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Uh, yeah, kinda. I guess. Why?"

"Well, I think something's wrong with her," he said.

I gave him a small, amused smile. "Matt, that's not very nice."

"No! I mean," he started over, "she was crying all through Homeroom today."

Furrowing my brow, I said, "Wait, what?"

"He's right, she was," Izzy said, and I turned to look at my lab partner. "I have Homeroom with her, too. She wailed for the entire period."

I frowned. "That's weird."

"I just thought you should know," said Matt. "I was kinda worried about her, but I didn't want to ask her."

Why was Matt so worried about her? My heart sunk slightly. I then closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Snap out of it, Sora! Something could be seriously wrong with Mimi!

"Thanks, Matt," I said. "I'll see what's wrong next period."

He nodded and sat straight again. My gaze slid over to Tai, who was scowling. I tilted my head to the side and gave him a sort of exasperated look. He sighed and looked back to his paper.

"I hope Mimi's okay," I murmured to Izzy.

"I've been in the same class as Mimi since second grade," he said, "and if my experience with her has taught me anything, it's that Mimi tends to make a big deal about things that most people don't see as important."

I grinned. "You're probably right. I get that vibe from her too. But still…" I shook my head as I continued to write. "Anyway, Izzy, I didn't have a chance to ask you this yesterday, but why didn't you come to the soccer game?"

Izzy stared at me, blinking. "Um. Well, Sora, soccer games aren't really my thing."

"What does it mean when people say that?" I asked. "I've heard people say that but it confuses me."

He chuckled. "I mean that computer nerds and AP kids like me don't typically enjoy soccer games."

"So you're saying that computers and soccer can't be two interests that one person has?" I challenged.

"I guess they can," he admitted, "but soccer isn't an interest that I have. Besides, none of my friends go to the games either, and I probably wouldn't be welcome by the people that do go."

"I would welcome you," I said. "In fact, I invited you."

Grinning, Izzy said, "You're different than most people at this school, Sora. You're probably the only one that would."

I shook my head. "You should give people more credit than that, Izzy," I said. "You'd be surprised."

Ten minutes later, the bell rang, and I went to my locker to exchange my Physics textbook for my Algebra II one. During the walk to my math classroom, I mulled over scenarios in which I would try to pry Mimi's problems from her. I figured if she was crying, then it would easy enough to simply ask, "Hey, why are you crying?" The only problem lay with what I would do if she didn't want to tell me.

As I was trying to come up with a game plan, I managed to bump right into the girl that I was thinking about in front of our classroom. She was crying and the first thing she did was throw her arms around my neck and howl right into my ear, "SORA, THEY KICKED ME OFF THE SQUAD!"

I pried her arms away from my neck and blinked a few times, trying to recover my hearing after going temporarily deaf. "Wait, Mimi, what?"

Mimi sniffled loudly. She was wearing zero makeup and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun – although not the stylish kind of messy that Mimi usually had and that took her ten minutes to do. It was an _actual _messy bun. Her eyes were rimmed red and her cheeks were tear-streaked.

I led her into the classroom, which was nearly empty since the second bell had yet to ring. "Okay, Mimi, start from the beginning. What happened?"

Mimi hiccupped loudly and wiped her nose with her hand. I dug through my bag and held out a small pack of tissues that I always kept with me, just in case. She opened it and took one, blowing her nose. "Thank you, Sora," she said softly. She hiccupped again and began her story. "Well, yesterday, we had tryouts to try to find a replacement – _hic _– for Serena. There were two girls that were really, really good. Every time we – _hic _– voted on which one would join, we reached a tie, so Phoebe was left to decide. She came to –_ hic _– school today and told us that she had decided to put both of the girls on the squad and that – _hic _– instead, one of us was going to be kicked off. And – and – it was _– hic _– MEEEEEE!" She drew out the 'me' in a long wail before dissolving into tears again. She took another tissue and blew her nose, and then used another to dab at her eyes. "It was – _hic _– awful, just awful, Sora! It was so embarrassing! And – I love cheering! I don't know what I'm going to do without it! I _– hic _– I'm ruined!"

I grabbed Mimi's hands and squeezed them tightly, trying to calm her down. "First of all, Mimi, you're not ruined," I told her. "No one is going to judge you because you got kicked off the cheerleading squad." I realized then that I should probably be a little less blunt, since hearing that phrase caused Mimi to start crying loudly again. "Second of all," I raised my voice, so she could hear me, "You have to realize that this isn't the end of the world. Life goes on. It's just cheering."

Mimi stopped crying suddenly and narrowed her eyes at me. "Sora, I love cheering," she said quietly. "If someone kicked you off the tennis team and told you that you could never play again, would you say to yourself, 'oh well, life goes on'?"

I blinked, taken aback. I hadn't thought of it that way. "Well – no…"

"Cheering isn't like other sports, Sora," she said. "I can't just go to a racquet club and cheer for fun, like you can do with tennis. If I'm not on the squad, I can't cheer!"

I frowned, feeling awful. "Mimi – I'm sorry –"

Mimi's anger abated as she began to wail again. "Oh, it's okay Sora, I know you didn't mean it. I just – I can't believe this! I was supposed to be captain next year, and now I'm not even on the team!"

"I can't believe Phoebe kicked you off the squad," I muttered. "Do you think this might also partly be because of Serena?"

Mimi rolled her eyes and scowled. "It's a combination of her low self-esteem and being jealous of how good I am. I was almost captain this year, but Phoebe managed to change Coach Timber's mind to give it to her since she's a senior. Phoebe and I had a much better friendship before we were competing like this. Ever since then, she's been nastier to me than normal. I mean, she's always been a bitch, but never this much! She was so cold to me all summer and then this thing with Serena – but I never thought she would kick me off the squad!" Her eyes began to swim in tears again.

"Well, if anything good came out of this," I said, "it's that you realized just what kind of a person Phoebe is. A true friend would not do what she did to you." She nodded meekly. "What about your other friends that are on the squad? What did they do?"

Mimi sighed. "Nothing. What could they do? Phoebe would smite them if they did anything."

"So… are they never going to talk to you again?" I said, hardly believing it.

Mimi blinked at me, a couple tears leaking down her face. "I hadn't thought of that," she said softly. "I don't want to be friends with Phoebe anymore, so that means Angela and Kelly and Mindy and everyone else won't be friends with me." Her lower lip trembled. "Sora, I have no friends!"

The second bell rang and the rest of the class began to crowd inside. "Mimi, you do have friends," I assured her over the rumble of other students' conversations. "I'm your friend. Don't worry, you're not alone."

Mimi turned to me and gave me a very watery smile. "Thank you, Sora."

**-Tai-**

Ever since school started, Sora and I have been eating lunch with random groups of people. Today was no different; we ate with Mimi Tachikawa, T.K., Kari, and Kari's new friend Yolei. Sora offered me a quick explanation on our way to meet them in front of the school about how Mimi had been kicked off the cheerleading squad and had no friends or something. I felt bad for her, although the whole situation seemed weird – how could Mimi go years being friends with these girls, only to have their friendships broken just because of cheerleading?

The four of them were already sitting down and eating when Sora and I got there. I greeted Yolei, whom I had never met before but Kari had told me about the day before. Apparently Yolei and Kari have P.E. together and according to Kari, Yolei doesn't have many friends. Kari said she decided to try to strike up a friendship with Yolei because her only real female friend is Sora and she said that that barely counts since Sora is more my friend anyway and almost like a sister to her.

"So, are you all enjoying your Tuesday?" I asked them. "I, personally, am not a fan of Tuesdays. Mondays sucks, but Tuesdays suck more, I think. Wednesdays are alright, Thursdays are better, and Fridays are the best."

Yolei blinked at me.

"So Mimi, I think I know of something that will cheer you up," I said, changing subjects rapidly. Mimi turned and blinked at me.

"What?"

"In fourth grade," I said, "Phoebe Jenkins was caught showing Walter Hollow her underwear. We all knew she was a slut back then."

Mimi giggled lightly.

Sora beamed at me gratefully. "Yeah, we have tons of Phoebe stories," she said. "In fifth grade, she threw a tantrum because she was captured in capture the flag. She tackled Gracie Hammerhead because of it, and Gracie ended up having to get to three stitches on her eyebrow from where her glasses cut her."

"Once a bitch, always a bitch," Mimi muttered.

"Phoebe Jenkins?" Yolei repeated. "Are you guys talking about cheerleading captain, Phoebe Jenkins?" We nodded. "You mean, only the most beautiful girl in this entire school!?" she yelped. "Mimi, aren't you two best friends?"

There was an uncomfortable silence; from the looks that Kari and T.K. were exchanging, it seems as if they too had heard about what happened. I glanced over at Sora and she gave me worried look.

"I guess she's pretty if you're into fake hair, fake tan, and a fake nose," spat Mimi, before gasping. "Oh my gosh – I can't believe I just said that!"

"She had a nose job!?" cried Yolei.

Mimi held her hands over her mouth. "Don't tell anyone," she said in a furious whisper after lowering her hands.

"So I guess – you guys aren't friends anymore?" Yolei asked, blushing. "I must have missed something… as always."

"Oh, it's okay, Yolei," said Mimi, shaking her head. "It's stupid, anyway."

Yolei smiled. "Well, now that you mention how fake everything about Phoebe is, Mimi, I'd rather have your beautiful imperfections that her fake features!"

I scratched the back of my head and glanced at Sora, who was hiding a smile. Kari giggled silently behind her hands – I don't want to sound mean, but it wasn't too hard to see why Yolei had only a few friends, due to her lack of social skills.

"Erm – thanks, Yolei. I think."

**-Kari-**

After school, I tracked down Tai on the first floor hallway at his locker. I'd forgotten to tell him at lunch about my plans with T.K. – well, actually, I had purposely not told him, since I didn't want him to freak out in front of T.K. Tai tends to be overprotective when it comes to boys, even if it was a guy I was just friends with.

"Hey, Tai," I greeted, coming up to his locker. He was attempting to close the door of his locker, into which he had crammed all of his textbooks. "Don't you have homework tonight?" I asked quizzically. I myself was trying to balance a stack of books that included my world history, Spanish, science, and algebra textbooks, as well as Romeo and Juliet.

He scoffed. "Homework? I haven't done any of that since sophomore year."

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Whatever. Anyway, Tai, I don't need a ride home today."

"Why not?" he asked distractedly. His face was red with effort as he pushed with all his might on his locker. Finally the lock clicked as it closed, although the metal was bulging and I was afraid that when Tai got to school tomorrow morning he would find that his locker had exploded and all his stuff would be scattered about the hallway.

"I'm going to Joe Momma's Coffee with T.K.," I said carefully.

He whipped his head around. "What? Really?" He beamed. "That's great!"

"It is?" I blinked in surprise.

"Yeah!" He put his arm around my shoulders. "T.K.'s a good kid. You guys behave yourselves!" He winked.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "Tai, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" he cried defensively. "So, is this a date?"

My jaw dropped at the ridiculousness of his statement. "What!? No, Tai – we're just friends! We're going to do _homework_ together. What's the matter with you?"

Tai looked like he was hurt, although I could tell he was acting. "Look, Kari, I'm just saying – if you were going to go on a date with someone, I'd like for it to be with T.K. But don't date him."

I sighed and rubbed my temple; I was getting very confused. "You want me to go on a date with him but not date him?"

"Yes!" Noting my bewildered stare, he continued, "It's one thing to go on a date and another thing to be 'official.'"

"Well, Tai, you're in luck," I grinned, "because I won't be dating anyone anytime soon. I'm just not interested."

"'Atta girl." Tai ruffled my hair in that annoying older brother way as we headed toward the school doors. "But it's okay to flirt with guys, remember that. Just not Davis."

"You're so confusing, Tai." I laughed. We reached the front steps of the school. "Well, I gotta go," I said. "Matt and T.K. are probably waiting for me."

Tai blanched. "Matt?"

I nodded. "Matt's dropping us off, and then I'll walk home. Joe Momma's Coffee is only three blocks away and I'll be home before dark."

Tai took a deep breath. Only my brother would have more trouble getting over the fact that Matt Ishida was driving me somewhere than the fact that I was getting coffee with a boy. "Okay. I'll see you later."

I waved good-bye as I trotted down the steps. I noticed Matt and T.K. standing near Matt's old car. Why had Tai and Matt never bonded over their ancient vehicles? T.K. waved me over and I soon joined them.

"Hey, Kari." T.K. smiled at me. "Ready to go?"

I nodded and climbed into the backseat while Matt got into the driver's seat and T.K. in the passenger's.

"So Tai was cool with you coming?" asked T.K. as Matt started to drive.

I nodded. "Yeah, he was fine. A little weird, but I guess that's what older brothers are for. I don't think he really cares, though – he has soccer practice in a half hour so it's kind of inconvenient for him to drive me home, anyway."

"What'll he do while waiting for practice, then?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Probably get an early start. That or watch part of Sora's tennis practice."

"How long have your brother and Sora been friends for?" T.K. asked curiously.

"For as long as I can remember," I admitted. "They've been good friends for a long time."

"Have they ever – like – dated?"

I wanted to ask T.K. why he was so interested in Tai and Sora's relationship, but decided against it. Instead, I just said, "No, I don't think so. They don't think of each other like that, I'm pretty sure. They've just known each other for too long."

**-T.K.-**

I felt kind of embarrassed for asking Kari so many questions about Tai and Sora but I was only doing it for Matt. Even though he had blatantly denied it when I asked him about it, I was pretty certain that he had a thing for Sora and this was my way of proving to him that Tai and Sora weren't "destined to be together," which he so strangely thought.

We reached Joe Mamma's Coffee, which was off the main road in Odaiba. It was on a strip with a candy and fudge shop, a small grocery store, an Italian restaurant, a bookstore, and, weirdly, a surfing shop. Across the street was an empty, weed-filled field that was surrounded by an iron fence. There was a sign hanging on the fence, which was too far away from me to read, and there was a single tractor, leading me to assume that it was a construction site.

After Matt dropped us off, I asked Kari, "What are they building over there?"

She followed my pointed finger and replied, "An outlet mall – the only thing that Odaiba lacks."

I could see what she meant. That square section of land was the only bit of untouched land that I had seen so far. Everything else was a house, an apartment, or a shopping center.

We entered Joe Mamma's Coffee and placed our orders: Kari got an Iced Carmel Macchiato and I chose a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. I panicked for a second while I internally debated on whether or not I was supposed to pay for her drink, but she paid before I could reach a decision. The next couple of minutes were spent with me stressing about how I hadn't paid. What if Tai found out? Would he be mad that I didn't make this clear that it was a date?

Was this even a date?

We sat down in two armchairs near the window at the back of the café. "This is nice," she said, sipping her drink. "I can't say I've ever gone out for coffee before. This seems like such a mature thing to do."

I chuckled. "My friends and I back home would always go out for coffee. I don't know what the appeal was but it just became our thing, I guess."

She picked up her bag, which she had sent down next to her chair. "Should we get started on some homework?" she asked.

She still hadn't gotten the hint that I had no intention of doing homework. "Maybe later," I said. "I was thinking for now we could just talk."

Kari looked slightly confused but set her bag down again. "Okay," she said. "What do you wanna talk about?"

Oops. I hadn't thought of that. "Um…" I was starting to get nervous. All of this pressure of having to flirt with Kari was making me forget what I was doing and only concentrate on how to woo her. When I'm not thinking about it, I'm fine.

And that's when I decided to just ditch this whole idea. I really like Kari as a friend and that's that. Whenever I try to act like I'm interested in her, she thinks it's weird. So I'll just tell Tai that I tried but she wasn't interested. There. Done.

"Let's talk about how you're going to have to give Yolei lessons on how to not be awkward," I grinned.

She pursed her lips in an effort to keep herself from smiling. "T.K., don't be mean."

"I'm not being mean!" I protested. "You noticed what an awkward conversation she had with Mimi today."

Thirty minutes later and my cheeks hurt from smiling and Kari was giggling.

"What should we do now?" she asked, as her giggles subsided.

I glanced out the window and tapped my fingers on the table. An idea struck me and I stood up. "Let's go," I said, throwing my empty cup away and grabbing my school bag.

Kari followed suit, asking, "Where are we going?"

I led her outside and we crossed the street, heading toward the empty field. "Let's go," I said again.

I walked around the perimeter of the field for a while, before finally finding a hole in the chain link fence. I slipped through and beckoned her to follow. She hesitated, asking, "Is this legal?"

Gesturing around at the emptiness, I asked, "Kari, who's gonna get us in trouble?"

She bit her lip but followed me anyway, stooping over slightly so she could fit. Straightening up, she asked, "So, what are we gonna do here?"

"When you think of a large, empty field," I asked, "what do you think of?"

Kari thought for a minute, then glanced at me and grinned. "Running!"

Before I could react, she had dropped her bag and taken off, running toward the middle of the field with her arms outstretched. I followed her, the breeze cooling my hair and whipping through my hair. After a moment, Kari, still some feet in front of me, stopped and laid herself down on her back, spread-eagled. I reached her, panting.

"That was fun," she smiled up at me, also breathing heavily. "I've always wanted to do that. Lay down!" she commanded, patting the space next to her.

I wasn't too keen on the idea – after all, it was a field filled with dead grass, weeds, and dirt – but I obliged anyway. I lay down next to her and stared up into the clear blue sky.

"This is calming," Kari said. I glanced over at her and saw her smiling up at the sky with her eyes closed. She breathed in deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth and I found myself looking at her in a new light. Kari really is a very pretty person, something I'd never really noticed before.

She turned her head to face me and smiled. Her smile reached her brown eyes, which sparkled. Kari's nose was really small and her smile was a little crooked, but I'd never before thought that anyone could look so cute.

"I need to bring my camera here," she said. "I never thought that such an ugly field could actually be such a pretty backdrop for a photo."

I smiled at her. "I'll just have to take you here again, then."

I didn't understand the drastic change in my feelings toward Kari and how I could go from deciding to only looking at her as a friend to thinking about how cute she is in thirty minutes, but I tried not to think about it too much. I wasn't sure if I _liked_ her – but I was going to spend as much time with her as I could until I figured it out.


End file.
